UNIVERSITY
OF FLORIDA
LIBRARY
ft 8.1
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
FIFTH REPORT
OF THE
UNITED STATES,
ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION,
being a revised and enlarged edition of
Bulletin No. 7,
ON
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FOREST AND SHADE TREES.
BY
ALPH^US ft. PACKARD, M. D., Ph. D.
WITH WOOD-GUTS AND 38 PLATES.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT printing office,
1890.
J
?9s~.7
Joint resolution authorizing the printing of two thousand
copies of the fifth report of the united states entomo-
LOGICAL Commission.
The following resolution, originating in the House of Representa-
tives, was concurred in by the Senate, July 6, 1882 :
Resolved by the Rouse of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That there be
printed, for the use of the Department of Agriculture, with necessary illustrations,
2,000 copies of the fifth report of the United States Entomological Commission, being
a special report on the insects affecting forest trees. — (-See Congressional Record,
July 7, 1882.)
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Letter of Submittal .~ vn
Preface 1
Introduction 5
Literature of forest entomology, 5 — Insects in general, 6 — The beetles and
borers, 7— Moths and butterflies, 7 — Gall-flies, 10 — Saw-flies, 12 — Plant-
lice, 13— Bark-lice, 14— Dipterous or two-winged gall-flies, 14 — Insec-
tivorous or parasitic insects, 14 — Artificial breeding of parasitic and
predaceous insects, 16 — Coleopterous enemies of borers, 18 — Influence
of temperature on insect life, 19 — Generations or broods, 19 — Hiberna-
tion stage, 23 — Diseases of trees produced by the attacks of insects, 24 —
The appearance of unusual new growths, 24 — The origin of repaired
parts from representative indefinite growths is very general, 25— Pre-
vention and remedies against forest insects, 27 — Borers in shade and
ornamental trees, 27 — Prevention and remedies against timber-beetles
and bark-borers, 28 — Insecticides and means of applying them to shade
and forest trees, 31 — Paris green and London purple, 31— Insecticides
which act by contact, 34— Wood ashes and lime, 34 — Coal ashes and
coal dust, 35 — Pyrethrum, hellebore, sulphur, 35— Alkaline washes,
potash lye and soda lye, 35 — Alkaline washes, soaps, 35 — Petroleum pro-
ducts, kerosene, naphtha, 36 — Kerosene emulsions, 36 — Resin washes,
37 — Fumigants, gases, 37 — Hydrocyanic acid gas, 38— Insecticide ap-
paratus, 38— Devices for applying powders, powder blowers, 38— The
Woodason bellows, 39 — The Leggett Brothers orchard gun, 39— De-
vices for applying liquids, 39— The pump, 39 — Hose and bamboo ex-
tension rod, 42— Nozzles ; the Riley or Cyclone nozzle, 44 — The Nixon
or Climax nozzle, 46.
Chapter I.
Imect8 injurious to the oak 48
Affecting the roots, 49 — Affecting the trunk, 53 — Affecting the limbs and
twigs, 83— Feeding on the buds, 116— Injuring the leaves, 117 — Injuring
the seeds (acorns), 215 — Insects either habitually or occasionally oc-
curring on the oak, 217.
Chapter II.
Instcts injurious to the elm 224
Affecting the trunk, 224 — Affecting the leaves, 230 — Insects occasionally
preying upon the elm, 282. -
Chapter III.
Insects injurious to the hickory 285
Injuring the trunk and branches, 285— Affecting the bark, 298 — Affecting
the leaves, 299— Affecting the fruit, 326 —Other species occurring on the
hickory, 328.
Insects injurious to the black walnut 329
Affecting the trunk, 329— Othet species occurring on the black walnut, 336.
129354
IV ■ TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Insects injurious to tht butternut 337
Affecting the trunk and limbs, 337 — Affecting the leaves, 336 — Other species
living on tin* butternut, :i42.
fflfeefj injur ion* to the chtttnut 343
Affecting the trunk and limbs, 343 — Affecting the leaves, 344 — Affecting the
fruit, 350 — Other species preying on the chestnut, 353.
Chapter IV.
Instils injurious to tht lo<u*t tree 355
Affecting the trunk, 355— Affecting the leaves, 361 — Other insects feeding
on the locust, 372.
Chatter V.
Insects injurious to the different species of maple . 374
Affecting the trunk, 374 — Boring in the twigs, 391 — Affecting the leaf-buds,
39*2— Affecting the leaves, 39*2 — Other insects occurring on the maple,
424.
Chapter VI.
Insects injurious to the cottonicood 426
Affecting the roots, 426— Affecting the trunk and branches, 426 — Affecting
the leaves, 428.
Insects injurious to the poplar 435
Affecting the trunk, 435 — Affecting the leaves, 445 — Other insects feeding
on the poplar, 472.
Insects injurious to the bass-wood or linden tree 474
Affecting the trunk, 474— Affecting the leaves, 475— Other insects living on
the linden, 480.
Chapter VII.
Insects injurious to the birch 483
Injuring the trunk, 483— Affecting the leaves, 486 — Other species occurring
on the birch, 514.
Chapter VIII.
Insects injurious to the beech 515
Affecting the trunk, 515 — Affecting the leaves, 515 — Other insects occurring
on the beech, 519.
Chapter IX.
Insects injurious to the wild cherry, wild plum, the thorn, crab-apple and mountain ash. 521
Insects affecting the wild cherry : Affecting the trunk, 521 — Affecting the
leaves, 522— Other insects, 529.
Insects affecting the wild plum : Feeding on the leaves, 530 — Feeding on the
fruit, 530— Other insects, 531.
Insects affecting the service-berry or June berry, 531.
Insects affecting the wild thorn : Affecting the leaves, 532— Other insects,
535.
Insects injurious to the crab-apple : Affecting the leaves, 537.
Insects injurious to the mountain ash: Affecting the leaves, 537 — Other in-
sects, 539.
Chapter X.
Insects injurious to the ash 540
Affecting the trunk and branches, 540— Affecting the leaves, 544— Other in-
sects occurring on the ash, 555.
TABLE OF CONTENTS. V
Chapter XI.
Page.
Insects injurious to the willow 557
Affecting the trunk, 557— Injuring the leaves, 559— Other insects occurring
on the willow, 59(5.
Chapter XII.
Insects injurious to the hackberry 601
Injuring the leaves, 602 — Boring in the trunk, 610 — Cecidoinyidous hack-
berry galls, 612 — Hackberry Psyllidae, 614.
Chapter XIII.
Insects preying upon the alder 623
Boring in the trunk, 623 — Injuring the leaves, 625 — Other insects o£ the
alder, 636.
Insects injurious to the hazel: Feeding on the leaves, 637 — Affecting the
nuts, 641 — Other insects, 641.
Chapter XIV.
Insects injurious to the sycamore, etc 643
Boring in the trunk, 643— Eating the leaves, 644 — Other insects also occur-
ring on the sycamore, 646.
Insects injurious to the hop-hornbeain, or iron-wood, 647.
Insects infesting the water- beech, hornbeam, 650.
Insects injurious to the sassafras, 650.
Insects injuring the honey-locust : Affecting the leaves, 652 — Other insects
of the honey-locust, 653.
Insects injuring the horse chestnut, or buckeye : Boring in the terminal
twigs, 654 — Affecting the leaves, 656.
Insects of the sweet-gum; 657.
Insects injurious to the sour-gum tree, 657.
Insects injurious to the prickly ash : Affecting the trunk and limbs, 659 —
Eating the leaves, 661.
Insects of the tulip tree, 663.
Insects injurious to the sumach, 664.
Insects injurious to the poison ivy, 665.
Insects affecting the catalpa : Affecting the leaves, 666 — Affecting the pods,
666.
Insects injurious to the witch hazel, 668.
Insects injurious to the magnolia, 669.
Insects injurious to the papaw, 669.
Insects injurious to the tree of heaven, 669.
Insects injurious to the box elder, 669.
Insects injurious to the mesquite, 670.
Insects injurious to the persimmon, 671.
Insects injurious to the California bay or laurel, 671.
Insects affecting the China tree, 671.
Insects injurious to the dogwood, 672
Insects injurious to the box, 672.
Insects injurious to the black alder, 673.
Insects injurious to the Kentucky coffee tree, 673.
Chapter XV.
Insects injurious to the pine 674-
Affecting the roots, 675— Affecting the trunk, 676— Affecting the twigs, 735—
Affecting the leaves, 756 — Other insects occurring on the pine, 609.
VI TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Chapter XVI.
Page.
Insects injurious to the spruce 811
Affecting the trunk and branches, Hll — Affecting the leaves, 830 — Affecting
the cones, 3.">4 — Other insects of the spruce, 856 — Insects injurious to the
Rocky Mountaiu spruce and Douglass spruce. 857.
Chapter XVII.
Insects injurious to the fir tree 861
Affecting the trunk, 361 — Affecting the leaves, 862— Other insects of the
fir, 869.
Chapter XVIII.
Insects injurious to the hemlock and larch -71
Injuring the trunk, 871 — Affecting the leaves, 873.
Insects injurious to the larch or tamarack : Affecting the leaves, 879— Other
insects, 903.
Chapter XIX.
Insects injurious to the juniper 904
Affecting the trunk. 904— Affecting the leaves, 907.
Insects injurious to the common juniper, 910.
Chapter XX.
Insects injurious to the cedar and cypress 917
Insects injurious to the cedar, 917.
Insects injurious to the cypress, 921.
Insects injurious to the Sequoia gigantea,9£l.
Explanations to plates 923
Indices of insects, plants, and authors quoted 929,947,953
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL.
Department of Agriculture,
Division of Entomology,
. Washington, D. (7., December 26, 1887.
Sir : In accordance with the act of Congress approved March 3,
1881, which provided that the reports of the United States Entomolog-
ical Commission be made to the Commissioner of Agriculture, I have
the honor to submit for publication this the fifth and final report of
said Commission. This report is on the insects affecting forest trees,
by Dr. A. S. Packard, and has been in part written and completed
since the termination of the work of the Commission, and while he has
been connected with the Division as a special agent.
Respectfully,
C. V. Riley,
Chief U. 8. & C.
Hon. Norman J. Colman,
Commissioner of Agriculture.
VII
VIII
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
C. V. RILEY, Chief.
A. S. PACKARD, Secretary.
CYRUS THOMAS, Disbursing Agent.
I
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FOREST AND SHADE TREES.
PREFACE.
The following report is an enlarged and revised edition of Bulletin 7
of the U. S. Entomological Commission on insects injurious to forest
and shade trees, which was published in 1881.
The design of this report is to give to the public, especially those
persons interested in forestry and the planting and cultivation of shade
trees, a brief summary of wbat is up to this time known of the habits
and appearance of such insects as are injurious to the more useful kinds
of trees. It is hoped that such a compendium will be found useful, and
lead the reader not ouly to refer to the works of Harris, Fitch, Walsh,
Riley, Le Conte, Horn, LeBaron, Saunders, Lintner, Forbes, and others
of our entomologists who have contributed to this neglected branch,
but induce him to make careful observations on the habits of destruc-
tive forest insects and to carry on experiments as to the best remedies
against their insidious attacks. The writer has added notes of obser-
vations made during the past twenty-five years in the forests of Maine,
New Hampshire, New York, and the woods of Massachusetts, as well
as in Colorado, Utah, Montana, Florida, and on the Pacific coast; also
a number of original engravings. The aim has been both to present
original matter and to bring together from numerous entomological
works, reports, and journals all that is of most importance to the prac-
tical man. It is hoped that the work in its present form may serve as
a convenient synopsis, a starting-point for future more detailed work,
as well as a handy book of reference for the use of future observers,
and that it will call the attention of the public to a neglected subject,
stimulating entomologists, practical foresters, and gardeners to do what
they can to add to our knowledge of this department of applied or
economic entomology.
A volume could be written on the insects living on any single kind
of tree, and hereafter it may be expected that the insect population of
'the oak, elm, poplar, pine, and other trees will be treated of mono-
graphically. Certainly there could be no more interesting and profit-
able work for the young entomologist.
5 ENT 1 1
2 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The preservation of our forests and of old and valued shade trees in
our cities and towns is a subject of pressing importance, and it is to be
hoped that the Government will foster private work and research in this
direction. Next to the wanton destruction of forests by unthinking
settlers and shiftless land owners, as well as by tires caused by the sparks
of locomotives, the attacks of injurious insects are most widespread and
tar reaching. Our forest and shade trees are yearly growing more
valuable and indispensable, and at the same time the ravages of in-
sects are becoming more widespread and noticeable. The diffusion of
a moderate amount of information upon the subject at the present time
will attract the notice ot the public and lead owners of land to pay a
little attention to the subject and do something towards checking the
ravages of noxious insects.
In France and Germany private persons, entomologists such as Per-
ris in France, and especially Katzeburg in Germany, have published
beautifully illustrated general works of very great interest and value
upon forest inserts, and their books have done immense service in those
countries, where an enlightened government and an intelligent people
have felt the importance of building up schools cf forestry and of
making laws compelling due efforts towards repressing the more injuri-
ous forest insects.
Kalteubach, in his work entitled " Die Pflanzenfeinde aus der Klasse
der Iusekten," or the Insect-enemies of Plants, has enumerated, in a
closely-printed volume of 848 pages, the species of insects preying upon
the different trees and plants, of all sorts, of central Europe. The num-
ber of insects found upon some kinds of forest trees is astonishing,
though it is to be remembered that all kinds are not equally destructive,
the most injurious and deadly forms being comparatively few.
Kalteubach enumerates 537 species of insects iujurious to the oak,
and 107 obnoxious to the elm. The poplars afford a livelihood to 264
kinds of insects; the willows yield food to 396 species; the birches har-
bor 270 species; the alder, 119; the beech, 154; the hazelnut, 97, and
the hornbeam, 88. Coming to the coniferous trees, as the pine, spruce,
larch, firs, etc., the junipers supply 33 species, while upon the pines,
larch, spruce, and firs, collectively, prey 299 species of insects. In
France Perris has observed over one hundred species either injurious
to, or living upon without being especially injurious to, the maritime
pine. These are described in an octavo volume of 532 pages, with
numerous plates.
The number as yet known to attack the different kinds of trees in the
United States may be seen by reference to the following pages. It is
sufficiently large to excite great fears for the future prosperity of our
diminished forests, uuless the Government interposes, and through the
proper channels fosters entomological research in this direction. Our
forests, moreover, are much richer in species of trees than those of Eu-
rope. We have, without doubt, ou the trees corresponding to those of
PREFACE. 3
Europe as many destructive species as in Europe. But we have many
more shade and forest trees of importance in the eastern United States
alone, and when we add to these the forest trees of the western Rocky
Mountain plateau and of the Pacific coast, and when we look forward
to the attention which must be given in the immediate future to the
planting of shade and forest trees on the great plains and in California,
the subject of forest entomology assumes still more importance.
The author has here arranged the forest trees in the order of their
importance, beginning with the hard-wood or deciduous trees, the oak
heading the list, and ending with the coniferous trees ; and under each
tree he has first described the habits of the insect on the whole most
injurious, sometimes merely giving a list of those insects found to be
regular parasites of the tree but not specially injurious, though it
should be borne in mind that any species of insect may at certain sea-
sons so abound as to prove destructive.
In preparing the original bulletin, the author was, for valuable infor-
mation regarding the food-trees of a number of beetles hitherto unpub-
lished, indebted to Mr. George Hunt, of Providence, R. I., and for aid
in collecting specimens he acknowledged the assistance received from
Mr. Edwin C. Calder, formerly assistant instructor in chemistry, Brown
University, and from Prof. H. C. Bumpus, then a member of the sopho-
more class of Brown University.
While preparing the work in its present form the author has been for
the last four years connected with the Division of Entomology as a
special agent, and matter contained in his reports have been incorpo-
rated in this general work. And he takes pleasure in acknowledging
the constant aid and sympathy in the work shown by Professor Riley r
the United States Entomologist, not only in allowing free and unre-
stricted use of specimens, both in his private collection and that which
he has generously presented to the Agricultural Department at Wash-
ington and to the National Museum, but for the privilege of describing
the transformations of a number of species, represented by blown or,
alcoholic larvae. Professor Riley has also freely made over to the author
many hitherto unpublished notes of habits and transformations, which
have been accumulating for the past twenty years — notes and observa-
tions which most persons would naturally prefer to keep or publish in-
dependently under their own names. These especially relate to oak and
elm insects, besides others, and are acknowledged in the places where
they appear. Be also contributes an account of the insects of the Celtis.
Professor Riley has also allowed the use of some uupublished draw-
ings and a few cuts prepared as Entomologist of the Department of
Agriculture for future use.
Thanks are also due to the late S. Lowell Elliott, esq., of Brooklyn,
, Henry Edwards, esq., of New. York, and Professor Riley, as well as to
Dr. G. H. Born, of Philadelphia; Dr. P. R. Uhler, of Baltimore; *Dr.
J. A. Lintner, State entomologist of New York, Mr. L. O. Howard and
4 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Mr. E. A. Schwaiz, assistant entomologists in the National Department
of Agriculture, and Mr. 1>. W, CoquUlett, of California, one of Professor
Riley's field agents, for numerous favors in identifying insects, and other
aid, and information.
For some of the colored drawings the author is indebted to Mr. Joseph
Bridgham, Mr. II. H. Wilder, Prof. II. C. Bumpus, Miss Julia E. Sand-
ers, Miss Emily A. Morton, and to the late Dr. J. L. Le Coute for a
few colored drawings bequeathed by his father. These are specifically
acknowledged in the explanations of the plates. Professor Riley has
also had a number of original drawings made by Dr. George Marx, Mr.
J. B. Smith, Miss Lillie Sullivan, all of AYashingtou, and others have
been made by Mr. Joseph Bridgham, of Providence, R. 1. The artists1
names are mentioned under the cuts in the text.
For aid in collecting specimens in Maine he is indebted to Mr. H. H.
Wilder and Master Allen Howe, of Lcwistou.
The author is well aware of the short-comings and imperfections in
this report. A good deal of time has been expended in unsuccessful at-
tempts at raising insects, which has not produced visible results. Up-
wards of two hundred descriptions of unidentified larvae have been
made; those of the oak appear in the appendix, and others are scat-
tered through the report. It is hoped that future observations will en-
able us to complete these life-histories. It would have been desirable
to have had more and, in some cases, better illustrations.
This report will be sent to all known to be specially interested in en-
tomology, and they are respectfully asked to send the author corrections
and additions, as undoubtedly a number of species have been omitted
from the list of those peculiar to different trees. Such changes could
be made in a second, revised edition, should it be called for by the
public.
Brown University,
Providence, R. J., January 2, 1888.
INTRODUCTION.
The subject of Forest Insects is almost a distinct branch of economic
entomology, and little special attention has been given to it as yet in
this country, owing to the fact that our entomological students have
been obliged to concentrate their efforts upon the more destructive
garden and field insects.
The special works on this topic are, though few, notable for the
extensive research and care with which they have been prepared; hence
their permanent value. By far the most important are the voluminous
works of Dr. J. T. C. Eatzeburg and those of Perris, Eichhoff, and
Kaltenbach, while an excellent general work on forest insects is that
of Judeich and Nitsche. The following list of works bearing directly
on this topic, and indispensable, should be supplemented by the reports
and articles of 0. V. Kiley, J. A. Lintner, J. H. Comstock, S. A. Forbes,
and others :
T. W. Harris Treatise on some of the Insects injurious to Vegetation. Third edition;
illustrated. Boston, 1862.
Asa Fitch. Reports (1 to 14) on the noxious, beneficial, and other Insects of the State of
Keiv York. Albany, 1856-'70.
V. Kollar. A Treatise on Insects injurious to Gardeners, Foresters, and Farmers. Trans-
lated from the German by J. and M. Loudon. London, 1840.
J. T. C. Ratzeburg. Die Forstinsekten, etc. (Forest Insects). Berlin, 1839, 1840, and
1844. 4 vols. 4to, with many plates.
Die Ichneumonen der Forstinsekten, etc. (Ichneumons of Forest Insects). 3 parts.
Berlin, 1844, 1848, and 1852. 4to. Plates.
Die Waldverderber undihre Feinde (Forest Destroyers and their Enemies). Ber-
lin, 1841. 8vo. Sixth edition ; 1869.
Die Waldverderbniss oder dauernder Schade, welcher durch Insektenfrass, Schalen,
Schlagen, und Verheissen an lebenden Waldbaumen entsteht (Forest injury or
losses inflicted by insect attacks, etc.). 4to. 2 parts. Berlin, 1866-'68,
with many colored plates. (A magnificent and most useful work.)
A.S.Packard. Guide to the Study of Insects., Ninth edition ; 1888. 8vo. New York,
H. Holt & Co.
Judeich und Nitsche. Lehrbuch der Mittel-Europaischen Forstinsektenkunde. Wien,
Part I, 1885. Part II, 1889. 8vo.
(Compare also the works of Perris, Taschenberg, Eichhoff, Kaltenbach, Altum,
Nordlinger, Henschel, and others.)
While the reader is referred to the ordinary text books for the ele-
ments of entomology, the following facts may prove serviceable in
connection with the subject of forest entomology :
5
6 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Insects in general. — The term insect is applied to that class of jointed
animals (Arthropoda) whose bodies are divided into three regions or
sections, called the head, thorax, and hind-body or abdomen. They
usually have three pairs of legs attached to the mid-body or thorax,
and two pairs of wings. Most insects pass through a series of changes.
In the butterfly, for example, after hatching from the egg as a cater-
pillar (larva), it transforms to a chrysalis (pupa),'fLnMy changing to the
imago or winged insect. The insects form a class comprising about
200,000 known species.
They are divided into sixteen orders (not including those which are.
extinct), as may be seen by the following tabular view copied from the
author's u Zoology," which briefly represents the more apparent, super-
ficial differences between the groups. The list begins with the lowest,
ending with the highest.
Orders of insects now living.
1. Wingless, often with a spring. Thysanura : Spring-tails, eto.
2. Fore wings minute, elytra-like Dermaptera: Earwig.
3. Wings net-veined; fore wings narrow; hind
wings folded Orthoptera : Locusts, Grassnoppers.
4. Four net-veined wings; mouth -parts adapted
for biting Platyptera : White Ants, Bird-lice.
5. Wings net-veined, equal Odonata: Dragon-flies.
6. Wings net- veined, unequal Plectoptera : May flies.
7. Mouth-parts beak-like, but with palpi Thysanoptera : Thrips.
8. Mouth-parts forming a beak for sucking; no
palpi Hemiptera : Bugs.
9. Wings net-veined; metamorphosis complete. Neuroptera : Lace-winged Fly, eto.
10. Wings long and narrow ; body with a forceps. Mecaptera : Panorpa.
11. Wings not net-veined Trichoptera : Caddis-fly.
12. Fore wings sheathing the hinder ones Co hoptera : Beetles.
13. Wingless, parasitic Siphonaptera : Fleas.
14. One pair of wings Diptera : Flies.
15. Four wings and body scaled Lepidoptera: Butterflies.
10. Four clear wings; hinder pair small; a tongue. Hymenoptera : Bees, Wasps, eto.
Allied to the insects are the myriopods, or centipedes and galley-
worms, none of which are injurious to forest or shade-trees, although
the smaller kinds of centipedes (Lithobius, etc.), occur under the bark of
decayed trees. No spiders or allied forms, comprising the class Arach-
nida, are injurious to vegetation, except certain mites (Acarina) whose
forms and gall making habits are peculiar. Many spiders take up
their abode in the leaves of shade and forest trees, but none are known
to be injurious. The false-scorpions (Chelifer, etc.) often occur under
the bark of decayed trees, but they are more useful than otherwise, as
they probably devour the smaller wood-boring larvae.
The bulk of our destructive forest insects belong to the orders com-
prising the beetles, the caterpillars, gall-flies, saw-fly larvae, and the
bugs. We will mention them in the order of their importance as
destructive to shade and forest trees.
INTRODUCTION. 7
The beetles and borers. — The order Coleoptera comprises about 100,000
species of beetles, divided into a large number of families. The beetles
are easily recognized by the hard, sheath-like fore wings which pro-
tect the hind wings ; their jaws are stout and thick, more or less
toothed, and adapted for biting.
The larvae of beetles are called " grubs." They have been thus
characterized in the author's " Guide to the Study of Insects : "
The larvae, when active and not permanently inclosed (like the Cnrculio) in the
substances which form their food, are elongated, flattened, worm-like, with a large
head, well developed mouth parts, and with three pairs of thoracic feet, either
horny or fleshy and retractile, while there is often a single terminal prop-leg on the
terminal segment and a lateral horny spine. The larvae of the Cerambycidce are
white, soft, and more or less cylindrical, while those of the Curculionidce are footless,
or nearly so, and resemble those of the gall-flies, both hymenopterous and dipterous.
The pupae have free limbs, and are either inclosed in cocoons of earth or, if
wood-borers, in rude cocoons of fine chips and dust, united by threads or a viscid
matter supplied by the insect. * * * Generally, however, the antennae are folded
on each side of the clypeus, aud the mandibles, maxillae, and labial palpi appear as
elongated papillae. The wing-pads being small, are shaped like those of the adult
Meloe. and are laid upon the posterior femora, thus exposing the meso- and meta-
thorax to view. The tarsal joints lie parallel on each side of the middle line of the
body, the hinder pair not reaching to the tips of the abdomen, which ends in a pair
of acute, prolonged, forked, incurved, horny hooks, which must aid the pupa in
working its way to the surface when about to transform into the beetle.
Most of the destructive kinds belong to the following families :
Body of beetle, broad, flat, hard ; antennae short, serrated. Larva with head and
first succeeding segment very broad aud flat Buprestidce.
Body of beetle more or less cylindrical, with very long, slender antennae ; larva?
called "borers," their bodies cylindrical, usually footless Cerambycidce.
Small cylindrical beetles, with no snout, called bark-borers ; larvae footless, thick,
cylindrical, pointed at each end Scolytidce.
Hard-bodied beetles, called "weevils," with a long beak or snout, with jaws at tne
end ; larvae grub like, footless, thick and fleshy Curculiotiidce.
Moths and butterflies. — While a few caterpillars (mostly of the family
^geriadse and the Cossidse) bore into the trunk and branches of trees,
the great bulk devour the leaves. Caterpillars are provided with
stout, toothed jaws (mandibles) for cutting leaves. They are voracious
feeders, as will be seen by the following extract from Mr. L. Trouvelot
in Packard's " Guide to the Study of Insects : n
Caterpillars gi ow very rapidly and consume a great quantity of food. Mr. Trouve-
lot gives us the following account of the gastronomical powers of the Polyphemus
caterpillar: " It is astonishing how rapidly the larva grows, and one who has no
experience in the matter could hardly believe what an amount of food is devoured
by these little creatures. One experiment which I made can give some idea of it.
When the young silk-worm hatches out it weighs one-twentieth of a grain ; when
ten days old it weighs half a grain, or ten times its original weight; twenty days
old it weighs 3 grains, or sixty times its original weight; thirty days old it weighs
31 grains, or 620 times its original weight; forty days old it weighs 90 grains, or
1,800 times its original weight ; fifty-six days old it weighs 207 grains, or 4,140 times
its original weight.
When a worm is thirty days old it will have consumed about 90 grains of fpod ; but
when fifty-six days old it is fully grown and has consumed not less than one hundred
8 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
and thirty oak leaves weighing three-fourths <>f a pound; besides this it has drunk
not leu than one-half en ounce of water. So the food taken by a single silk-worm
in fifty-ail days squall in weight eighty-six thousand times the primitive weight of
the worm. Of this, about one-fourth of a pound becomes excrementitious matter j
207 grains ere assimilated and over .6 onnoea have evaporated. What a destruction
of leaves this sin^lr species of insect could make if only a oue-hundredth part of
the eggs laid came to maturity. A few years would be sufficient for the propaga-
tion of a uuinber large enough to devour all the leaves of our forests." The
Lepidoptera are almost without exception injurious to vegetation, and are among the
chief enemies of the agriculturist.
In our descriptions of the larvae of Lepidoptera the following points
are noticed: Behind the head are twelve segments; the first or pro-
thoracic is, in the small leaf- rolling and mining kinds, protected by a
"cervical" or prothoracic shield; there are three thoracic segments,
called the prothoracic, mesothoracic or metathoracic, or sometimes the
first, second, and third thoracic segments; these correspond to the thorax
of the imago or adult butterfly or moth. Behind these are nine distinct
abdominal segments; on the eighth is often situated a dorsal hump.
Many caterpillars are striped with a dorsal, subdorsal, and lateral lines
or bands, moreover, the body in many is provided with warts or tuber-
cles beating a hair or spine; the "lateral ridge" is a broken swelling
extending along the sides of the body. The abdominal feet are in cer-
tain leaf miners wanting; or in the span or geometrid worms there are
but two pairs; and the last or "anal legs" are often broad and large,
the better adapted for seizing firm hold of a leaf or twig.
While a few butterflies live in the caterpillar state on trees, the fol-
lowing brief synopsis gives the most salient characteristics of the
families of moths which especially abound on the leaves of shade and
forest trees :
Moths of large size; larvae with a horn on the eighth abdominal segment.. Sphingidce.
Moths with stout hairy bodies and small heads and broad wings; larvae more or less
hairy or with spines; usually spinning silken cocoons Bombycidce.
Moths of moderate size: stout bodies; shining hind wings; larvae with five pairs of
abdominal legs; sometimes semi-loopers Xoctuidce.
Moths with slender bodies, broad wings, both pairs colored alike ; larvaB with only
two pairs of abdominal legs; span-worms or geometrids PhaJwrnda.
Small moths with narrow, straight fore-wings, the hind wings plain ; larvae glossy
green or pale, the head spotted, and the body more or less striped Pyralidcp.
Still smaller moths, the fore-wings more or less oblong; the larvae green, with dark
heads aud cervical shields ; not striped ; rolling leaves or eating buds. . Tortricidce.
Minute moths with narrow, pointed wings; larvae small, pale greenish, etc., with a
darker head and cervical shield ; often mining leaves, buds, etc Tineidas.
Forest trees, and especially evergreen trees, support each year hordes
of caterpillars, comprising species of diflereut families. In beating the
branches of any spruce, fir, larch, poplar, or mapl^, and especially the
oak, a great number and variety of caterpillars are shaken down, and
the question arises whether the innumerable host constantly aud ordi-
narily at work from spring-time to the fall of the leaf m our forest
trees are really injurious to the tree. It is not improbable that good
INTRODUCTION. V
is done to the tree by these voracious beings. The process up to a
certain limit may be one of natural and healthy pruning, but there is
no certainty that the limit may not at auy time be overstepped and
destruction ensue. The tree is attacked in a multitude of ways by cater-
pillars alone. The buds are eaten by various leaf-rollers (Tortrices),
the leaves are mined on the upper and under sides by various Tineids,
while the leaves are rolled over in various ways and in various degrees
to make shelter for the caterpillars, or they are folded ou the edges, or
gathered and sewed together by Tineid, Tortricid, and Pyralid larvae.
The entire leaves are devoured by multitudes of species of larger cater-
pillars, belonging especially to the Pyralid, Geometrid, Bombycid, and
Sphingid moths ; while certain species prey on the fruit, acorns, nuts,
and seeds.
It is a singular fact that of the great family of Owlet or Noctuid
moths, of which there are known to be 1,200 species in this country,
very few feed on trees, the bulk of them occurring on herbaceous plants
and grasses.
While the smaller caterpillars (Microlepidoptera) feed concealed
between the leaves or in the rolls or folds in the leaf, or in the buds, the
caterpillars of the larger species feed exposed on or among the leaves.
Here they are subject to the attacks of birds aud of Ichneumon and
Tachina flies, which are constantly on the watch for them. And it is
curious to see how nature has protected the caterpillars from observa-
tion. While the young of the smaller moths are usually green and of
the same hue as the leaves among which they hide, or reddish and
brownish if in spruce and fir buds, where they hide at the base of the
needles next to the reddish or brownish shoots, the larger kinds are
variously colored and assimilated to those of the leaves and twigs
among which they feed. Were it not for this they would be snapped
up by birds. Of course, the birds devour a good many, and the pry-
ing Ichneumons and Tachinae lay their eggs in a large proportion, but
those which do survive owe their safety to their protective coloration.
Of some twenty or more different species of Geometrid caterpillars'
which occur on the evergreen trees, some are green and so striped with
white that when at rest stretched along a pine needle, they could with
difficulty be detected; others resemble in various ways (being brown
and warted) the small twigs of these trees ; and one is like a dead red leaf
of the fir or hemlock. There are several span-worms on the oak, which
in color and markings, as well as in the tubercles and warts on the body,
resemble the lighter or darker, larger or smaller knotty twigs; this
resemblance, of course, is in keeping with the characteristic habit of
these worms of holding themselves out stiff and motionless when not
feeding.
In an entirely different way the various kinds of Notodontian cater-
pillars, which feed exposed on oak leaves, are protected from observa-
tion. They feed on the edges of the leaves, and their bodies are green?
10 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
with reddish brown patches, so that these irregular spots, when the
caterpillar is at rest, are closely similar to the dead and sere blotches
so frequent on oak Leaves. The same may be said of other kinds feed-
ing on the leaves of other lorest trees.
While the bodies of those Moctuid caterpillars which feed on herba-
ceous plants are smooth, those of the tree-inhabiting Catocala, Homop-
fora, and Pheooyma are mottled with brown and ash like the bark of the
tree, and provided with dorsal humps and warts assimilated in form
and color to the knots and leaf scales on the twigs and smaller branches.
There is thus a close harmony in color, style of markings, shape, and
size of the humps and other excrescences of tree-inhabiting caterpil-
lars, and it is due to this cause that they are protected from the attacks
of their enemies. Mr. Poulton has recently called attention to the fact
that caterpillars are extremely liable to die from slight injuries, owing to
their soft bodies and thiu skins. They can not defend themselves when
once discovered. The means of protection are of passive kinds, i. e.,
such as render the delicately organized animal practically invisible on
the part of its enemies, and these means vary with each kind of cater-
pillar. In this way different kinds of larvae can live on different parts
of the leaf, the upper or under side, or the edge ; on different colored
twigs, on those of different sizes, with different kinds of leaf scars,
scales, or projections ; and thus the tree is divided, so to speak, into so
many provinces or sections, within whose limits a particular kind of
worm may live with impunity, but beyond which it goes at the peril of
its life.
To the Hymenoptera belong the gall-flies and saw-flies, besides bees
and ants, and ichneumons.
Gallflies. — These little creatures produce tumors or galls both in the
trunk, branches, but more usually the smaller twigs and leaves of the
oak, and rarely other trees. They belong to the family Cynipidce, and
are described as follows in the writer's u Guide to the Study of Insects:"
The gall-flies are closely allied to the parasitic Chalcids, but in their habits are
plant-parasites, as they live in a gall or tumor formed by the abnormal growth of the
vegetable cells, due to the irritation first excited when the egg is laid in the bark or
substance of the leaf, as the case may be. The generation of the summer broods is
also anomalous, but the parthenogenesis that occurs in these forms, by which im-
mense numbers of females are produced, is necessary for the work they perform in
the economy of nature. When we see a single oak hung with countless galls, the
work of a single species, and learn how numerous are its natural enemies, it becomes
evident that the demand for a great numerical increase must be met by extraordinary
means, like the generation of the summer broods of the plant-lice.
The gall-flies are readily recognized by their resemblance to certain Chalcids, but
the abdomen is much compressed and usually very short, while the second, or the
second and third segments, are greatly developed, the remaining ones being imbri-
cated, or covered one by the other, leaving the lined edges exposed. Concealed
within these is the long, partially coiled, very slender ovipositor, which arises near
the base of the abdomen. [See Plate xv, ovipositor of the gall-fly.] Among other
distinguishing characters, are the straight (not being elbowed) thirteen to sixteen
jointed antennas, the labial palpi being from two to four jointed and the maxillary
INTRODUCTION. 11
palpi from four to six jointed. The maxillary lobes are broad and membranous,
while the ligula is fleshy, and either rounded or square at the end. There is a com-
plete costal cell, while the subcostal cells are incomplete. The egg is of large size,
and increases in size as the embryo becomes more developed. The larva is a short,
thick, fleshy, footless grub, with the segments of the body rather convex. When
hatched they immediately attack the interior of the gall, which has already formed
around them. Many species transform within the gall, while others enter the earth
and there become pupae.
Like the Aphides and certain other insects, the females often repro-
duce parthenogeuetically, viz, they lay eggs without having paired with
males, the latter not being at the time in existence. Thus the late B.
D. Walsh * discovered that the autumn brood of a gall-fly (Cynips quer-
cus-aciculata) consisted entirely of females which laid eggs, producing
the following spring both males and females which were originally re-
ferred to a supposed distinct species (Cynips quercusspongifica). Hence,
after several experiments Mr. Walsh declared that uthe agamous
autumnal female form of this Cynips (G. q.-aciculata) sooner or later
reproduces the bisexual vernal form," and is thus ua mere dimorphous
female form" of C. q.-spongifica. It was reserved for two other Ameri-
can students of the gall-flies to establish the fact that an alternation
of generations takes place in these insects. The case is thus stated by
Mr. L. O. Howard, in Psyche (in, 329, June 24, 1882).
America may justly claim the credit for the discovery of this most interesting fact
of alternation of generations among Cynipids. Kiley, in the interjected remarks in
his article on "Controlling Sex in Butterflies" (American Nat., Sept., 1873, v. 7, p.
519), was the first actually to establish the fact beyond all perad venture, asM. Lichten-
stein points out; yet Bassett, four months previously (Can. Entomologist, May, 1873,
vol. 5, p. 93) had stated, in the following words, the theory which Adler has so fully
verified : "From all the above facts I infer that all our species that are found only in
the female sex are represented in another generation by both sexes, and that the two
broods are, owing to seasonable differences, produced from galls that are entirely
•distinct from each other." In this article Bassett has just missed the actual proof in
two instances. With Cynips q. -operator he had observed the females of the vernal brood
ovipositing in acorn cups and producing the gall q.-operatola of Riley's MS.; but
he failed to rear the flies from these galls and so missed the complete proof. In the
case of C. q.-batatus Bass., he had bred the sexual forms from leaf galls, and the agamic
females from twig galls, but had not actually observed the females of the former in the
act of ovipositing in the twigs ; thus again missing the proof. Riley, however, as he
tells us in his published note, succeeded in breeding the agamic females of q. -operator
from the acorn galls ; thus, in connection with Bassett's observation of the oviposi-
tion, completely establishing the fact of alternation. So the credit should be joint. It
is, in fact, much like the well known case of Siredon and Amblystoma, in which the
credit should be divided between Baird and Dumeril. Dr. Adler very excusably
overlooked this note of Riley's. Walsh, in his earlier articles, came no nearer the
actual state of the case than to prove that two females, formerly described as dis-
tinct species, may belong to the same male.
Independently of and subsequently to the work done in the United
States, Dr. Adler, of Germany, also discovered and satisfactorily
* American Entomologist, ii, 330, October, 1870.
12 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
proved in an extensive and beautifully illustrated memoir* the fact
of alternation of generations in a number of European species.
In a notice of Adler's work in the American Naturalist for July,
1881, Professor Riley added that Mr. H. F. Bassett "has, following
Adler's interestiug experiments in Europe, suggested the probable di-
morphic, connection of several of our vernal galls which produce bisexual
individuals, with autumnal forms which produce larger asexual flies.
Dr. Adler gives a list of nineteen species of Cynipidre in which the oc-
currence of dimorphic forms has been proved, giving the names of
the agamic forms and the corresponding bisexual forms the latter
of which, in all cases, were referred to distinct genera by previous ob-
servers.
In this connection should be mentioned the remarkable fact that in
certain closely allied species (Aphilotrix seminationis, marginalis, quad-
rilineatus and albopunctatus) no alternation of generations seems to
occur.
Saiv-flies. — These often seriously injure evergreen trees, while they
occur on all other trees. There are a large number of species. Their
larva3 resemble caterpillars in appearance and in voracity. The flies dif-
fer from wasps, etc., in the abdomen being broad at the base j the body
is somewhat flattened, and the head is wide, while the antennas are not
elbowed, and as in Lophyrus are pectinated in the males, serrated in the
females. In the end of the hind body of the female is situated the
u saw" or ovipositor. This consists of two blades, the lower edge of
the lower one of which is toothed like a saw, and fits in a groove in the
under side of the upper blade; both blades being protected by sheath-
6s
Fig. 1.— Saw of a saw-fly (Hylotoma): a, lateral scale; i, saw; /, gorget. After Lacaze-Duthiers.
like stylets. On pressing the end of the abdomen the saw is depressed ;
by this movement the saw, which both cuts and pierces, makes a gash
in the soft part of the leaf, where it deposits its eggs. (Fig. 1.)
The Lophyrns of the pine makes a series of punctures on each side of
a pine needle ; the Nematus of the alder makes from twenty to forty pairs
of semicircular punctures in the under side of the midrib of the leaf,
while the larch saw-fly inserts her eggs in two alternating rows at the
*Zeitschrift fur Wissenschaftliche Zoologie, xxxv, Feb. 1, 1881, pp. i:>l-'24b\ Pis.
x— xii. Dr. Adler's researches were commenced in 1875, and his first paper appeared
in 1877. (Deutsche Entomolog. Zeitschrift, 1877, Heft 1.)
INTRODUCTION. 13
base of the fresb leaves of the Dew shoots. The punctures made in the
willow by saw-flies of the genus Euura result in the formation of galls
or tumors within which the larvae live.
The larvae strongly resemble caterpillars, hence they are sometimes
called u false caterpillars;" but they have from six to eight pairs of ab-
dominal legs, whereas caterpillars have only five pairs. Many kinds
{Nematus, etc.) curl the hind body spirally when feeding or at rest.
They are usually green, of the color of the leaves upon which they feed,
with lines and markings of various colors. They usually molt four
times, the last change being the most marked. Most of the larvae se-
crete silk and spin a tough oval, cylindrical cocoon, in which they
hybernate in the larva and often in the pupa state.
Ants and bees. — Ants have not been noticed in the United States to
injure trees, but in the tropics species of (Ecodoma, or leaf-bearing ants,
are very destructive to trees; it is possible that there are species in the
Gulf States which may in part defoliate trees.
Bees are of great use in setting the fruit of trees ; little has been ob-
served on this point in this country, but without doubt the visits of in-
numerable bees to linden trees are of service in " setting " the seed of
that tree.
Mr. Lugger* mentions the fact that the seeds of the rock maple, so
numerous in the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D. C, were in 1886 uniformly sterile. He attributed this phenomenon
to the inclement weather prevailing during the flowering season, which
prevented bees from visiting the flowers.
Plant lice. — While many Hemiptera, such as the bugs, destroy many
caterpillars, particularly span-worms and leaf-rollers, some of the most
annoying and destructive of our forest insects belong to this order.
They all take their food by piercing the succulent leaves and stems, or
twigs of trees, shrubs, or herbs, often causing them, as in the elm aphis,
to crumple up. The species of Psyllidce are very common on the leaves
of hard-wood trees, either hopping over the surface or living in leaf-
galls which are the results of their punctures.
The following account of Aphides or plant-lice is adapted from the
writer's "Guide to the Study of Insects:"
The plant-lice have greenish, flask-shaped bodies, covered with a soft, powdery,
bloom ; their antennae are five to seven-jointed, with a three-jointed beak, and legs
with two-jointed tarsi. The males and females are winged, and also the last brood
of asexual individuals, while the early summer brood are wingless. The abdomen is
thick and rounded, and in Aphis and Lachnus provided with two "honey tubes" for
the passage of a sweet fluid secreted from the stomach.
In the early autumn the colonies of plant-lice are composed of both male and female
individuals; these pair, the males then die, and the females begin to tieposit their
eggs, after which they also die. Early in the spring, as soon as the leaves begin to
unfold, the eggs are hatched, and the young lice begin to suck the sap, and soon be-
gin to bring forth young, which develop by a budding process within the body of the
* Entomolo<iica Americana, ii, 89.
14 FIF1II REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
parent. A teoond generation of sexiest individuals tlms results, jrhicfa is succeeded
bj a third, fourth, fifth, and even a ninth generation, the process being only termi-
nated by the approach of oold vreather, when ;i last brood of males and females ap-
pear. By this anomalous, asexual mode ot reproduction, a single Aphis may hecome
the parent of millions of yonng.
Certain plant-lice occur on the roots of plants, others on the stems or twigs; others
puncture leaves, eau-dng them to roll or crumple, or to form galls. Ants are fond of
the sweet excretions from the " honey tabes," and often keep them captive in their
ike herds of cattle. The maggots of Syrphus flies, lady-birds (Cocoinella), and
the larva- of the lace-winged fly, besides small ichneumons, destroy great uumhers of
them and keep them within due limits.
To the plant-lice family belong the species of Adelges and Cln>rmes which produce
cone-like swellings on the new-grown twigs of spruce; alsc of Pemphigus, which pro-
duce gall-like swellings on poplars, etc.
Bark-lice. — In the species of Coccidce, the males alone are winged,
having but a single pair, while the females are wingless, scale-like and
do great damage by puncturing the bark of trees.
Dipterous or tic<> winged gallflies. — Maples, wild plums, poplars, and
other trees have numerous leaf-galls of varied form made by little gnat-
like flies belonging to the dipterous family Cecidomyidce. These flies
are minute, most of them smaller than a mosquito. The females lay
their i^g^s in the stems, leaves, and buds of various plants and trees,
thus producing galls, a common example being the willow dipterous
gall-fly ( Cecidomyia strobiloides). There are thirteen other species found
by Mr. Walsh to raise galls on eight different kiuds of willow, the dif-
ferent kinds of galls being readily distinguished, while the flies them-
selves and their maggots are closely similar. The maggots of the
Cecidomyiaus are usually minute orange, pinkish, or yellowish worms
without feet, and with the body pointed at each end.
Insectivorous or parasitic insects. — While the undue increase of forest
insects is largely prevented by iusectivorous birds, their numbers are
especially reduced by the attacks of parasitic or carnivorous insects.
Of these the most efficient are the ichueumou flies, which are wasp-
like insects forming a large group of the order Hymenoptera, belonging
to the families Ichneumonidce, Proctotrupithc, and Ghalcididw. Of the
ichneumons there are probably from 4,000 to 5,000 species. Many of
the species of Proctotrupidce oviposit in the eggs of Lepidoptera and of
dragon flies, etc. The largest species belong to the first named family.
They are recognized by their long, slender body and long, external
ovipositor. The larva is like the maggot of a bee or wasp, being foot-
less, soft, and white, and with a smaller head.
"When about to enter the pupa state the larva spins a cocoon,
consisting in the larger species of an inner deuse case and a looser,
thinner outer covering, and escapes as a fly through the skin of the
caterpillar. The cocoons of the smaller genera, such as Cryptus and
Microgaster, may be found packed closely in considerable numbers,
side by side, or sometimes placed upright within the body of cater-
pillars."*
* Packard's "Guide to the Study of Insects," p. 193.
PARASITIC INSECTS.
15
Fig. 2.— Head of a Noctuid cater-
pillar on the hickory, containing a
freshly-hatched ichneumon larva.
A, d, egg-shell of the ichueumon
on the caterpillar's head, the larva
(e) having bored into the piotho-
racic segment of its host. B as
the host appears ten minutes
later, the egg-shell bavins dropped
off. The prothoracic segment has
contracted and the bead has be-
come swollen, while the posterior
part of the caterpillar's bead has
concealed the opening of the lar-
val parasite seen at A, e. Gissler,
del.
Fig. 2 represents the mode of oviposition
by au unknown ichneumon observed by us
in Providence. The egg (d) was laid on the
head, and the larva soou hatching, bored
under the skin, entering the body so as
finally to disappear out of sight.
The eggs are laid either within or on the
outside of the body of the host, usually
some caterpillar.
A special account of the mode of egg-lay -
iug of au European ichneumon (Paniscus
cephalotes) is given by Mr. E. B. Poulton in
the Transactions of the Entomological So-
ciety of London, 1886, page 162. It laid 14
eggs on the caterpillar it selected as its
host, firmly attaching them to its skin, most
of them in the sutures between the segments
on the sides of the body.
"It is probable that an excess of ova is generally laid, for a small
proportion do not develop, and the way in which they are attached in
small groups insures that of those that do develop a large proportion
of the larvae are so crowded by the others that they die at an early
stage, as has been also previously observed. If too large a number
were laid and all developed, it is obvious that none could arrive at ma-
turity; but this is obviated iu the manner described above, and it is
partly brought about by the limited space on the circumference of the
larva attacked. This space, of course, varies with the size of the lat-
ter, and it is more quickly filled in the rapid development of the para-
sites upon small than upon large larvae; so that, if they are too numer-
ous, crowdiug ensues earlier, and with more fatal results in the former
than in the latter case. Thus the smaller surface may compensate for
the less amount of food, and may itself insure that the parasites reach
maturity." The ichneumon lays a smaller number of eggs on small
caterpillars than on large ones, and yet lays more than can develop in
all cases, "the eggs beiug laid in such a way that crowding results if
all or nearly all develop; so that the chance of the eggs being sterile
is obviated on the one hand and of the parasitic larvae dying immature
on the other."
The larva of the ichneumon does not attack the solid or vital parts
of its host, but absorbs the blood and other fluids of the body. Mr.
Poulton thinks that the motive force which drives the blood from the
body of the host into the digestive tract of the parasite is entirely
supplied by the contracted body- walls of the former.
Many ichneumons are polyphagous, i. e., live in insects of widely differ-
ent species, and those of different orders.* Others confine their attacks
* This and the following remarks on ichneumons are taken mainly from Judeich
and Nitsche's Lehrhuch der Mittel-Enropiiischen Forstiusektenkunde.
16 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
to a single species. Most ichneumons have bat a single generation;
a few are double-brooded. In Germany, Katzeburg observed a brood
Of Mierogaiter globatUS early in .May, and another early in August.
Though there may be two broods of the hosts, there is, as a rule, but
a single brood of iehneumons. Katzeburg, indeed, found that certain
ichneumons of saw-fly larva* imitated the habit of the latter of living
more than a year, I. 0., they did not develop until the greater number
of saw-flies bad issued from the belated cocoons. On the other hand
Pteromalu* pupanim undergoes an extraordinarily rapid growth; it
stings early in June the chrysalids of Vanessa poli/chloros, and by the
middle of July the adults appear. Teleas orulorum requires only four to
six weeks to develop; it however flies somewhat later, so as to tind the
suitable objects on which to lay its eggs.
Ichneumons rarely develop in adult insects, but certain Braconids
infest Coccinella beetles. The small Chalcids, i. e., Pteromali, mostly
inhabit the tender pupse of bark-boring beetles and leaf-rollers.
Among the smaller ichneumons several females usually inhabit a
single host, while from 000 to 700 individuals of Pteromalus puparum
may inhabit a single chrysalid, and 1,200 Apanteles a Sphinx larva.
Most ichneumons develop within their hosts, but many species of
Chalcids live on the outside and suck the blood of their host. The
ichneumon Larvae living within their hosts often undergo the most
remarkable transformation of their mouth-parts. In Microgaster globatus
there are, at first, only the wart-like rudimentary sucking month-parts;
but after the last molt the larva? acquire ordinary biting mandibles,
with which they can gnaw through the skin of their host. However,
the food of the ichneumon larvae is wholly fluid, their mouth-parts not
allowing them to eat the fat-body of their host.
Other parasitic insects are the larvae of the Tachina flies, a group
closely allied to the common house-fly. The larvae are true maggots,
footless, and take their food by suction through the mouth, the mouth-
parts being very rudimentary. The Tachina (Senometopia) militaris
has been observed by Riley to lay from one to six eggs on the skin of
the army-worm, " fastening them by au insoluble cement on the upper
surface of the two or three first rings of the body." The young mag-
gots in hatching penetrate within the body of the caterpillar, and lying
among the internal orgaus absorb the blood of their unwilling host,
causing it to weaken and die.
Other insectivorous insects are the Aphis-lions, the young of the lace-
winged flies Ghrysopa and Hemerobius, which are frequently found in
trees among plant-lice; also Carabid beetles.
Artificial breedingof parasitic and predaceous insects. — Among the most
important preventive measure against the wholesale ravages of insects
is the artificial breeding of parasitic insects. We early advocated this
in dealing with the Hessian-fly and wheat midge, suggesting the im-
portation of the European parasites of the latter species in straw. Dr.
Le Baron has experimented with the parasites of the apple bark-louse.
ARTIFICIAL BREEDING OF PARASITES. 17
Professor tiiley in his third and subsequent Missouri reports has
shown how easily and practically certain parasites of the Plum Cur-
culio and of various scale-insects may be artificially disseminated, and
has successfully introduced the most common European parasite (Apan-
teles glomeratus) of the imported cabbage worm.*
* The most strikiug illustration of the good that may be accomplished by this means
has, however, been furnished by Professor Riley since these pages were prepared for
the printer, and as it refers to an insect very destructive to forest as well as fruit
trees, we reproduce here the paper read by him at the Toronto (1889) meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science on " the artificial importation
and colonization of parasites and predac eous enemies of injurious insects" :
"The eucouragemeut of the natural checks to the increase of insects injurious to
vegetation may be of a two-fold nature. It frequently happens that an indigenous
species is found to have certain parasites in only a portion of the country which it
inhabits. In such cases, where it is practicable to transport the parasites, a great
deal of good may be accomplished. Cases in point are not uncommon. * * *
" But this intentional distribution of the parasites or natural enemies of an injurious
insect from one part to another of its native couutry is by no means to be compared
in importance with the introduction of such parasites or enemies from one country to
another, in which the injurious species has obtained a foothold, without the corres-
ponding natural enemies which serve to keep it in check in its original home.
" The object of the present note is to cite an illustration of artificial introduction on
a large scale, which has already been productive of great good. A successful attempt
of this kind had been made by me in the case of Microgaster glomeratus, which, after
several futile efforts, was introduced from Europe and established in the United States
in 1885, and which has now become so widely distributed as to raise the question of
its previous existence there. This Microgaster is one of the commonest parasites of
the European Cabbage Worm, Pieris rapce, which got a foothold in America, without
its European enemies, about the year 1859, and which rapidly spread over the States
and parts of Canada, with disastrous results to the cabbage crop.
" The case to which I would particularly allude is, however, far more important and
satisfactory. Orange culture has become a very important industry in southern Cali-
fornia. The orange groves there have suffered for some years from the attacks of
several insects, but particularly of a very pernicious scale insect (Icerya purchasi
Maskell). ThiB is one of our largest coccids and, from its habits and characteristics,
very difficult to overcome. It does a great deal of damage — not only to the orange
and other citrous fruit-trees but to many other cultivated plants and to forest trees.
The damage has become so serious during the past few years that many orange-
growers have abandoned their groves, while the cost and trouble of protecting these
by the use of insecticides have always been great, even where successful. After
careful researches I ascertained that the insect was without much question a native of
Australia and had been artificially introduced not only into southern California, but
also into Cape Colony, in South Africa, and probably into New Zealand ; also that in
its native home it rarely did serious damage, being kept in check there by various'
natural enemies and parasites. Some attempt was made, through correspondence
with Mr. Frazer S. Crawford, of Adelaide, to introduce one of the parasites by mail
in 1887. Specimens were received alive and liberated at Los Angeles under confine-
ment, but no positive evidence was obtained of multiplication or colonization. Spe-
cial effort and introduction on a larger scale seemed necessary.
"Last autumn and winter in connection with the commission appointed to visit the
Melbourne International Exposition and through the State Department I was able to
send one of my field agents, Mr. Albert Koebele, to Australia with instructions to study
these natural enemies and to send living specimens to California. The principal facts
have been recorded in my last annual report as entomologist of the United States
Department of Agriculture and in late numbers of "Insect Life," a monthly bulletin
published under the auspices of the entomologist and his assistants. Without going
into detail I may say that Mr. Koebele's mission has been eminently successful and that
we have succeeded in introducing alive not only the most important of the parasites,
an interesting Dipteron (Lestoplionus iceryce Williston), but also several predaceous
species, and particularly certain ladybirds (Coccinellidse.) These were brought over
last winter and spring, have become well acclimated, and are now spreading and
multiplying at a rapid rate. The latest reports which I have received from California
are to the effect that one of the commoner ladybirds but recently described, namely,
the Vedalia cardinalis, and another lately described by Dr. D. Sharp as Scymnus res-
titutor&re multiplying and spreading in a most satisfactory manner. The consign-
5 ENT 2
18 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Coleopterous enemies of borers. — Besides woodpeckers and other birds
which pick insects out of bark, and thus do great benefit to forestry,
and besides ichneumon and Ohalcid parasites of borers, there are many
carnivorous grabs which prey upon the borers.
Among the external though less known enemies belongiug to the
order of beetles, which Penis enumerates from his extended observa-
tions on their habits, are a Large Dumber which live under the bark of
9. I quote his accounts of them, premising that we have similar
insects with like habits in this country; and though the list of scientific
names seems formidable, yet there an* no common names for them. I
nse nearly his own words, with occasional interpolations of English
names.
When one of the Scolytids injurious to pines (the Bostrichus stenographus) lays its
index the bark, the Platysoma oblon§mm introduces itself by the hole which has
given, entrance to the first named uiM-ct ; it lays its eggs in the gallery of the Bostri-
chus, and from those eggs are boro the carnivorous larva which devour those of the
wood-eating beetles. Other beetles conduct themselves in the same manner in war-
ring against other Beolyti. The larva1 or grubs of Plegaderus disci*us destroy the
yonngof Crypturgus pusillus ; another wood-earing beetle, the Aulonium sulcatum, is
the deadly enemy of Scolytus destructor, so formidable a foe to shade trees : Julonium
bicolor attacks Bostrichus laricis ; Colydium bicolor preys upon the Bostrichus of the
larch: Colydium elongatum on Platypus cylindrus ; Rhizophagus depressus on Blastopha-
gus piniperda and B. minor; Lirmophla?us hypobori on Hypoborus ficus ; Hypophlatus
pinion Bostrichus stenographus ; and finally Hypojyhlwus linearis on Bostrichus bidens.
Who will not be struck by these antagonisms ? Who will not admire this infallibility
o( instinct which causes these insects to discover the tret- attacked, and perceive
among the species wk ich the tree conceals the victim which has been assigned to
them ?
Other beetles exhibit the same sagacity. The larva? of several Elaterids (wire-
worms) aud those of Clerus mutillarius and C. formicarius make war on those of some
lougicoru beetles of the oak, the elm, alder bush, aud the pine. The Opilus mollis
and 0. domesticus are the enemies of the borers which miue our floors and ceilings ; the
Cylidrus albofasciatus aud the Tillus unifasciatus prey on Sinoxylon sexdtntatum aud on
Xylopertha sinuata, which seek the diseased branches of the vine aud those of several
trees; the Tarsostenus univittatus attaeks the Lyctus canaliculatus, injuring our timber
works; while the Trogosita mauritanica destroys the grain moth
In an article in the American Naturalist (xvi, 823) on iuquiline wood-
borers, or those which usually* take up their residence in mines or gal-
leries made by true wood-borers, Mr. E. A. Scuwarz finds that the com-
mon Platypus compositus may itself bore in the thick bark of pine
ments from Australia were received at Los Angeles by Dr. D. W. Coquillet, another
of the agents of the division." * * *
The people of California are enthusiastic over the grand success of this effort, and
the Vedalia is spreading with remarkable rapidity and clearing the trees in its wake.
Prof. W. A. Henry, director of the Wisconsin Experiment Station, m a recent report
to the Department of Agriculture writes:
•A word in relation to the grand work of the Department in the introduction of
this one predaceons insect Without doubt it is the best stroke ever made by the
iltural Department at Washington. Doubtless other offorts have been pro-
ductive of greater good, but they were of such character that the people could uot
clearly see and Appreciate the benefits, so that the Department did not receive The
credit it deserved. Here is the finest illustration possible of the value of the Depart-
ment to give people aid in time of distress. Aud the distress was very great indeed."
INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON INSECTS. 19
stumps, but iu hard wood, as oak, etc., associates with Colydium lineola
and Sosylus costatus, living in their mines. Professor Kiley has dis-
covered that the larva of Hemirhipus fa scicularis is parasitic on Cyllene
picta, living in its mines. Strongylium tenuicolle is not a true borer, but
Mr. Schwarz has found it in the mines of longicoru borers, wherein it
perhaps lays its eggs.
Influence of temperature on insect life. — The following statements are
taken from Judeich and Mtsche's Lehrbuch.and will apply to insects
in this country:
"The influence of temperature may either work injuriously on insect
life from extremes of heat or cold, or from sudden and, at given times
of the year, abnormal changes. High temperature does not directly in
our climate, in the natural course of nature, affect insects. On the other
hand, it is not unfrequently the case that insects, suddenly overcome
by the frost, freeze to death in great numbers, since with the lowering
of the temperature, benumbed by the cold, they can not reach crevices
or holes out of the reach of the frost. As an example, we may refer to
the winter of 1864-'65, in which, in the district of Mark and the prov-
ince of Saxony, the caterpillars of pine silk worms and measuring worms
lemained unusually long on the trees, and the former froze in the mid-
dle of December,— 12.5° C, and the latter during the considerably
greater cold in January. Hence the influence of even very great cold
on the normal hybernating stages of our insects is not very great. In
the summer of 1854 the 'nun' moth had very generally laid its eggs in
eastern Prussia uncovered on the bark, and these did not freeze in the
hard winter of 1854-'55, notwithstanding the expectation that they
would, based on a temperature of 30 to 35° G.
"According to the observations of Eegener, openly exposed caterpil-
lars of the pine silk worm endured —12.5° G. The other stages froze
earlier, the pupa at —6° 0., the moth at —7.5° G., the eggs at —10° G.
According to Duclaux (Comptes Eendus, 83, p. 1079) the eggs of the silk
worm endure well remaining two months in a temperature of —8° C.
"Great fluctuations of temperature during the winter produce an
abnormal interruption of the winter's rest or hibernation, and thus cause
the death of many insects."
Generations or broods. — The length of time which any insect needs in
order to complete a single developmental cycle from the time the egg
is laid until the insect is mature and fit for reproduction is a genera-
tion ; a generation then is the time from an egg to an egg. The length
of time of a generation varies, of course, in different insects. Gener-
ally an insect requires twelve months for its development. In such a
case we speak of an annual generation. On the other hand an insect
which requires for its developmental cycle twenty-four, thirty six, or
forty-eight months has a biennial, triennial, or quadrennial generation.
The European May beetle has, in northern Germany, a quadrennial -gen-
eration ; the seventeen -year locust has a generation of seventeen years.
On the other hand, there are insects which repeat their developmental
20
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
cycle two, three, or more times in a year; such insects are said to be
doable or treble-brooded. Lopkyrui abietti and other species are double-
brooded, while many butterflies are doable or treble brooded, and the
Aphides have from nine to fourteen generations in a season, i. e., from
Spring to autumn. In all cases of seasonal dimorphism or of partheno-
genesis there are several generations.
Jadeich and Nitsche graphically represent as follows the generations
of the European Lopkyrty pint, with its double generations, which will
also apply to our L. (thirds: The egg is denoted by a point ( • ), the
larva by a dash ( — ), the larva lying in a semi-papa condition in the
cocoon, thus ( O ) ; the papa by the following mark ( m ), and the imago
by a cross ( -\- ) ; the time during which the larva is eating, by a heavy
dash HI i; lastly, the period of injury by the larva is placed under,
the time of imaginal injury above, the mark for the stage under consid-
eration.
Jan. Feb.
Mar.
Apr. May. Jane.
July.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
+ +
• •
••+
+
1860.
-6esosea3
BflHBHBH
■OTMH
• t- +
• •
1881.
In the United States a butterfly or moth which is siugle-btooded in the
New England or northern Central States may be three-brooded in the
Southern or Gulf States. A generation or brood which appears and
ends in the summer is shorter than that which hibernates.
Thus the summer generation of the species of pine saw-flies (Lophyrus)
is about four mouths, the winter generation about eight months.
Hence the leugth of the generation depends on the temperature and
climate, as does also the number of broods or generatious. "This influ-
ence of climate is, as is well known, so considerable that a species of
insect which has a double generation in a certain locality, in another
place with a colder climate is only single-brooded, while in a warmer
climate it is three-brooded. An example is Rylesinus piniperda. Thus
also a species of insect whose generations in a certain middle location
is, for example, four-yearly, in a more southern situation is three-yearly.
A proof of this is afforded by the May beetle, which north of the ' main
line' is four, but south of it needs only three years to complete its
development. A certain species of insect may moreover in the same
locality in a warmer and more favorable year be double-brooded, while
in the next harsher unfavorable year it is single-brooded. But if the
checking influence of the harsh weather is less, then even in an un-
favorable year a second generation may begin to develop, but does not
complete its cycle by the end of twelve months. Hence there are in
twenty-four months three generations, and then arises what Ratzeburg
calls a 'one-and-a-half generation.' Of this Tomicus bidentatus not rarely
affords an example.
GENERATIONS OR BROODS OF INSECTS.
21
"We have observed that certain species of insects and often individ-
ual insects may without any assignable reason remain a considerably
longer time than usual in the pupa state. Lyda stellata usually has a
single brood (one year generation) while it frequently happens that
from the pupa beginning the first of May, the imago does not fly at the
end of May or in June, as is the rule, but that the pupa state lasts over
to the next May, when the adult flies! The pupal rest in this case lasts,
instead of three weeks, more than a year. A similar case is that of
Cnethocampa pinivora. This relation is connected with the fact that
insects are cold-blooded, or better, poikilothermic, i. e., changeably warm
animals. We understand thereby such animals as those whose peculiar
body heat, although constantly a little higher than that of the surround-
ing medium, the air, water or earth, i. e., their habitat, yet varies with
the changing temperature of this medium. In contrast with these are
the warm-blooded, or, more exactly, the homceothermal. i. e., animals with
an even temperature which as long as they live steadily maintain their
own normal temperature up to a height ranging at most 1° O. The
blood-heat of a healthy man, although he may be exposed to a degree
of cold of — 30o C. or a warmth of + 30° C, remains steadily at 38° 0.
( Judeich and Nitsche.)*
The duration of development of a warm-blooded animal is definite.
The development of an insect's eggs, however, is analogous to that of
a fish. We best see this when at the beginning of spring the leafing
out of the foliage is late and the caterpillars of Clisiocampa hatch cor-
respondingly late. Exact series of observations of indubitable cer-
tainty are scarcely at hand, but, add our authors,t we will cite the posi-
tive statements of Regener| on the influence of temperature on the
duration of development and of life of the pine Bombyx at different
temperatures, though, indeed, they are somewhat inexact and incom-
plete.
Provisional tabular view of the life-history of the Pine spinner (Gaslropacha pini) at dif-
ferent temperatures, after Begener.
Temperature,
°C.
Duration (in days) of—
Egg-stage,
from laying
to hatching.
Caterpillar,
from hatch-
ing to spin-
ning of
cocoon.
Spinning of
cocoon.
Prepara-
tions for
pupa.
Pupal rest.
+ 4° to 5°
-t- 6°
+ 9° to 11°
+ 11° to 14°
+ 15° to 19°
+ 18° to 21°
+ 20° to 24°
+ 24° to 28°
36
26
20
18
17
16
500
196
152
119
84
67
56
15
9
24
2
3
2*
2
k
49
36
26
21
* Each degree of the Centigrade thermometer is equal to lg-° of Fahrenheit; and
0° is at the freezing point of water.
tJudeich and Nitsche, I, 116.
X E. Regener. Erfahrungen iiher den Nahrungsverbrauch und liber die Lebens-
weise, Lebensdauer und Vertilgung der grossen Kiefernraupe. Leipzig : Emil
Baensch's Verlag. 1865.
22 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
What combination of different climatic influences in reality causes
that one and the same insect either in different years in tin- same locality,
or in different localities in the same year, needs a time different in
length for the completion of a generation, conld not be determined in
advance. Ratzebnrg was inclined in this matter to follow the similar
relations established by Bonssinganlt as regards the duration of vege-
tation of plants. According to the views of this French observer each
plant needs a definite amonnt of heat; i. e., the sum of the mean daily
temperature of its time of vegetation should be a constant one, while
the duration of the time of vegetation may itself vary. It is als > theo-
retically assumed that a plant needs heat amounting to 2000° 0,, SO that
it can develop in one hundred days, with an average mean tempera-
ture of 20° C; also as well in oue hundred and eleven with 18° C, aud in
ninety-one days with an average mean temperature of 22° C.
Katzeburg* applies this to the case of the May beetle. He says :
Interesting and important is, moreover, the behavior of the May beetle. Iu mid-
dle and northern Germany its generation is a quadrennial one, iu southern Germany a
triennial one. The reason of this plainly lies in the climatic features of those
regions. In the south the season opens much earlier and closes later, which mnst
exert some influence ou animals of a pliable nature, such as the May beetle, ;i-
as on plants. The grub there has, in three years, a start of at least three months,
iu comparison with those in the north : also, even iu the third summer, its develop-
ment may be ready, though we should consider that with us in the fourth summer, it is
usually in July ; it eats uo more, and in August pupates. Eriehsou found that the
pupation sometimes occurs even in May : it fails only a little of a three-years' genera-
tion. Finally, everything depends, as in plants, on the amount of heat iu the soil
and air which a genus or species needs for its development. If the May beetle does
not find this in the third summer, it requires it in the fourth, aud can shorten the
time in an especially favorable year, but with us can never complete it in three years.
Should we, for example, add together the mean temperature of Berlin for twelve
mouths it would amount to 106° C, aud for four years 4 x 10ii3— 4*24-; on the other
hand Carlsruhe would in three years give 375°, and beyond the Alps there is fully
424°. Should we also take into account the temperature of the soil, the amount in
the south would be still better for the May beetle. In north Germany in humous
sandy soil (in the Waldsohutten), the thermometer in the hybernation stage of the
May beetle in one month, from the end of March to the end of April and beginning
of May, rises from -p-b0 to -J-9° C. How is it now iu the south? All other insects
which inhabit both the north and south must have a "heat surplus;" but since this
lasts only one, but at the most two years, it follows that such results as in the case
of the May beetle, which requires so loug a time to develop, can not occur there.
Accurate researches ou this problem are still very rare. Herr Uhlig
iu Tharaud found by observations on the temperature made three times
daily during a generation of Tomicus typographus, from May 30 to July
21, a heat-amount of 145° O., or divided, a daily amount of 22.02°; dur-
ing the second generation, from August 4 to October 3, an amount of
1228.5°, or divided, a daily amount of 20.48° (Thar. Tagebuch, 25 Bd., s.
25G).
Katzeburg's statement should also be noticed. A double brood of
Tomicus typographic appears if, as is usual in central Germany, the
^Die Waldverderber uud lhre Feinde; tt°, p. oGO.
HIBERNATION STAGE. 23
mean temperature of the months reaches 13° G. iu May, 17° C. in June,
19° C. in July, 17° 0. in August, and 14° C. in September.
But it has now long been proved that plant physiology does not
accept the simple heat-amount of Boussingauit^ and we have besides
to consider the period of suulight (duration of light) during which alone
the chlorophyll-containing parts are assimilated, as well as the mean
temperature reached in the sun — at best measured by an actinometer.
However, in animals the transformation of tissue depends much less
on the amount of light than in plants, hence simply the total heat-
amount can scarcely be sufficient to explain the differences in the ani-
mal developmental processes, especially if we only take into account
the temperature of the air. It would be much better to take into con-
sideration the temperature of the soil throughout their larval life of
insects living in the earth, and in insects living in wood the temperature
of the tree, L e., the portion of the tree concerned. Compare the exact
researches of Krutzsch.* Such researches should determine what is the
minimum temperature at which generally an advance in development
would be possible. Also the optimum temperature, i. e., the tempera-
ture which is most favorable to any process should be noted.
For example, these optima would require to be different for the dif-
ferent developmental stages in the insects, as would the temperature-
minima supportable to the same. We also know, through the re-
searches of Semper, t that as in the germination, growth, and flowering of
plants, so also in animals; i. e., in our common fresh water snails, the
temperature- optima for the different function, i. e., for the ripening
of the sexual products and for growth, are different, a thesis which by
Semper has been applied to a striking attempt at an explanation of the
occurrence of wingless, larval-like, but still sexually developed Ortho-
ptera in southern lands, i. e., the so-called "stick insect n (Judeich and
Nitsche).
Hibernation stage. — The developmental cycle of two species of insects
with similar generations may, under similar climatic relations, produce
a very different shape, namely, in the cases where they pass the winter
in different stages of development, since the hibernation-stage is always
the longest, and hibernation is possible in the egg, as in the larva, pupa,
or imago, stage. But under normal relations a given species of insect
always hibernates in the same stage, i. e., many moths as pupa?, some
butterflies as imagines.
It is not possible, then, to predicate in general for a single order of in-
sects as to what stage they may hibernate in, since species of the same
family differ in this respect. Thus, for example, according to an estimate
*Untersuchungen iiber die Temperatur der Baume im Vergleiche zur Luft und
Boden-Teinperatur. Forstwirthscbaftlickes Jahrbuch der Akadeinie Tbarand, x,
1854, 214-270.
tAnimal life as affected by tbe natural conditions of existence. Tbe Internationa]
Scientific Series. New York, 1881.
24 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
of Werneburg's* of the German Maerolepidoptera 3.4 per cent, hiber-
nated as egtf> 00.9 per cent, as larva*, 28.2 per cent, as pap®, and 1.5
percent, as imagines, while in considering a single family the result stood
entirely different. Thus all the Zyga*nidie hibernated as larvie, most
SphingidflB as pupae, and of the butterflies 9 per cent, in the egg, 54 per
cent, in the larval, 28 per cent, in the pupal, and 9 per cent, in the
imaginal state. Thus it appears that insects which, not to take too
narrow a limitation of genera, belong to one and the same genus, may
hibernate in wholly different stages.
Of many species of insects only the females hibernate after impreg-
nation in autumn, /. e., many gnats and our common paper wasp (Vespa),
while the honey bees tolerate no droues in their hives, so that only the
queen with the workers lives through the winter.
But abnormal meteorological phenomena may so effect such chauges
that a species of insect may hibernate in a different stage of develop-
ment from what is customary. Indeed there are cases where au insect
may, though rarely, live through the winter in another of the four
stages of metamorphosis than the usual one, for it has been observed
that the pine Gastropacha lives through the second winter as pupa.
(Ratzeburg : Die Forstinsekten, ii., 147, Anm.) On the other hand, it is
very common for caterpillars, which seek winter quarters when half
grown. This they have to do as very young animals. Thus the pine
Gastropacha hibernates after the first molt, instead of, as usual, after
the second.
Insects which have generations requiring several years must natur-
ally hibernate several times. This may occur in the same or in different
stages of metamorphosis; thus, for example, the one, two to three years'
generation of the May fly remains as a larva in the water, while the
May beetle passes three winters as a larva, but the fourth as au imago.t
For the following interesting remarks we are indebted to Judeich and
Nitsche's work on Forest Entomology :
Diseases of trees produced by the attacks of insects. — Various deformi-
ties and alterations of the wood, branches, and leaves result from the
attacks of borers and bud and leaf devourers. Before the tree com-
pletely heals there is a more or less long period during which the tree
assumes an abnormal, morbid appearance. Such appearances in which
the disease affects the growth of the wood are : 1. The appearance of
unusual new structures, such as leaves, etc., both in form and dimensions.
2. The origin of repaired parts from representative growths or sleeping
buds. 3. The diminution of growth.
The appearance of unusual new growths. — In general the changed
sickly new growths are smaller and more sparse than the normal. A
thinner foliage in the year after the damage is generally the result of
*A. Werneburg. Der Schuietterliug und seiu Leben. 8°. Berlin : 1SV1.
tThe foregoing remarks on insect-generations and hibernation have been trans-
lated from Jndeicb and Nitsche's valuable work on Central European Entomology.
DISEASES OF TREES PRODUCED BY INSECTS.
25
stripping the trees bare. After injury by the nun caterpillar the trees
seem to suffer most in the secoud year following the damage.
The new growth of the fir generally sends out only very short needles,
which remain as brush shoots (Fig. 3.) In the pine there arises after
defoliation from lateral buds u rosette shoots," i. e., very short, persist-
ing growths bearing dense, short, broad, and serrate (gesagte) single
needles (Fig. 4). But on the other hand cases occur, when many buds
are destroyed, where the remaining remnant of the entire sap-stream is
used and the organs formed out of it, i. e., needles or leaves become
unusually large, as for example in the ordinary pine, in which case the
leaves bear three needles.
Fig. 3. Lateral twig of a fir eaten by nun cater-
pillars in 1856. which in 1858 only produced
"brush needles." After Ratzeburg.
Fig. 4. Rosette shoot on the pine. After
Ratzeburg.
Similar relations are observed in the helve oak attacked by Orchestes,
Generally the first growth seems to grow straight on and resist the in-
jury arising from the laying of the eggs by the female of this leaping
weevil, and the injured leaves are crumpled, but such leaves on the
Johaunis growth (Johannistriebe) become unusually large and abnor-
mally formed, while those situated on the summit entirely assume their
normal shape.
The origin of repaired parts from representative indefinite growths is
very general. — The clearest example is afforded by pines deprived by
Eetinia buoliana of their terminal shoots. In this case there grows out
after a certain time a shoot of the uppermost branch (Quirles), which
now becomes the terminal shoot, though in growing up there is acrum-
bliug of the stem in the place under consideration.
For the formation of mostly abnormally shaped organs which have
been replaced from sleeping bud^, the pine affords the best example.
From the usually dormant sheathing- buds on the point of origin of the
short shoot pccurrjiig' between every two pine needles, are developed
26 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
I
(ill the course of the appearance of needles, and dwarfing the leading
shoot) iheatking shoots, which, however, usually reach do great age, but
arc provisionally of much importance to the life of the tree.
The loss of increase in size resulting from disease is twofold. Some-
times the shoots suffer in decrease in length, at others in shrinking in
size. The diminution of length is shown after the year succeeding that in
which the injury took place ; that in the terminal
shoot of the branch, and especially the topmost
shoot, the needles remain shorter. Not until
later do they again assume their normal length.
The fir also, whose topmost shoot is here repre-
sented (Fig. 5), after injury received in the year
1857 formed only short leading shoots, but in
1861 again formed a strong shoot.
The diminution of the growth in diameter is
especially noticeable in the loss of the foliage or
needles, which sometimes occurs in the year of
injury, but more decidedly the following year.
After a greater loss of leaves the annnal rings
•lfcP>* •••••*'• "«>»l»« •■«'••• '••«••-. ••••■■.«»' ■"
_■■■■•■»■
••■•■•■•■■■•a
Fig. 6.
Fig. 5. Terminal shoot of a
fir defoliated by the nun-cat-
erpillar in 1857, showing the
different lengths of the
year's growth. After Ratze-
buvg.
The last seven rings of pine stem almost wholly defoliated in.
1858, but not killed outright. After Ratzeburg.
are smaller and feebler, and this may sometimes
last over for many years. (Fig. 6.)
Nordlinger has repeatedly found signs of de-
foliation by the May beetle for three years on
oaks, also on Carya alba, in southern Germany, indicated by very small
annual rings.
The counting of the aunual rings to ascertain the age of the tree in
the practically so important matter of discovering its rate of growth is
rendered unsafe by the formation of double riugs, which may result
from the sudden leaving-out in summer on young shoots, or by the co-
alescence of two annual rings in one, aud sometimes even by the total
omission of a ring. The sharply-defined difference between the spring
and autumn growth of wood as denoted by the color, " white aud brown
wood " of an annual ring, especially in the coniferous woods, enable
them to be very easily counted, pr6vided there :s no interruption in the
growth. In the deciduous trees the two layers of the aunual rings are
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 27
less sharply distinguished ; and it is only in the oaks, ashes, and elms,
where the pores are arranged in rings ("ringporeu") that the richly
vascular spring wood sharply defines each new annual ring from the
denser and more compact autumnal layer of the preceding ring.
Injuries in the production of the resin also arise from molds, which
effect a transformation of the starch and of the cellulose into turpen-
tine, and thus cause a morbid increase as well as outflow of the resin or
pitch ; e. #., Agaricus melleus, Aecidiumpini, Peziza Willkommii. All in-
sects which externally gua w the bark or the wood of coniferous trees, e. g„
bark borers, wood wasps, Grapholitha pactolana and G.coniferana, Bioryc-
tria abietella; different weevils (Hylobius and Pissodes), produce a more
or less strong flow of pitch or resin. But also in the interior of the wood
arise abnormal formations, as, for example, the so-called pitch-chains.
We understand by these a morbid increase of the pitch canals of coni-
fers into concentric chains which often coalesce ; also the pitch canals
in the last year's ring are completely omitted.
Prevention and remedies against forest insects. — Besides the insecticides
for such insects as feed upon the leaves, and the means of applying
them to single trees, to groves, or to more or less extensive forest areas,
and which will be described farther on by Professor Riley, there are some
suggestions which may be made as to the remedies against borers.
In the first place it should be borne in mind that dead stumps and
decaying trees or logs left standing near groves or road-side trees, are
a continual menace to healthy trees, since they afford an asylum or
breeding-place to timber and bark borers. Such objects, large and
small, should be cut down or pulled up and burnt. Forests should be
kept free from standing dead trees and stumps, or if left standing
should have the bark removed. It is well known that lumberers remove
the bark of logs to prevent injury to the lumber of " sawyers," or the
grubs of timber-beetles.
While in the virgin spruce forest on the eastern shores of Lake Ken-
nebago, Maine, which had never been lumbered, my attention was
forcibly called to the necessity of cutting down the dead and dying
spruces so as to save the healthy trees. It is of course out of the question
to burn such dead timber, but we question whether it would not in the
long run pay the owners of lumber lands to send parties in to cut down
the trees, remove the bark, and thus prevent the breeding of bark-
borers, and hasten the decay of trees infested by timber and bark-borers.
Plantations and forests of limited extent can with comparative ease
and slight expense be kept in neat, trim order by judicious thinning
and removal of injured or infected branches, the latter being burnt.
Borers in shade and ornamental trees. — Our experience in detecting the
gashes in the bark of the spruce and fir made by the female Monoham-
mus, the parent-beetle of the "sawyer" or borer, aud those made in
rock -maples by the female beetle of the maple-tree borer, so destructive
in parks aud streets, has taught us that it is quite practicable during
28 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION'.
August to liud these gashes and to cut out the small grubs in the bark
underneath, at a time when they have not descended deep into the tree.
An observant and intelligent gardeuer could easily prevent further
damage from such a cause.
One of the, most formidable and deadly borers of the oak, from Maine
to California and Texas, is the caterpillar of the Carpenter moth. In
Europe a similar borer is dealt with m the following ways, according to
different writers quoted by Miss Ormerod in her '-Manual of Injurious
Insects/' A wire thrust into the "mine" or hole may destroy them.
Paraffine injected by a sharp-uozzled syringe with as much force as pos-
sible into the holes where the caterpillars are working is a good remedy,
also any oily or soapy mixture (kerosene injections might injure the
tree more than the borer). The flames of sulphur blown into the hole
might be of use. u Where a tree is much infested, it is the best plan
to cut it down, split it, and destroy the caterpillars within. As many as
sixty or more caterpillars maybe taken from one tree, aud when in this
state it will never thoroughly recover, aud it becomes a center to attract
further attack, as well as one to spread infection.'1
As preventive measures, to preveut ovipositiou, the lower part of the
trunk should b^ washed with whale oil soap of the consistency of thick
paint. This should be done at or about the time the moth lays her eggs,
viz, as early as April aud May in Texas, aud in June and July in the
Northern States.
These suggestions will also apply to the Sesiau borers of the maple,
ash, etc.
Prevention, and remedies against Timber-beetles and Bark-borers. — The
family of bark-borers (Scolytidai) include those which live in the bark
and those which descend into the wood, the latter often being called
timber-beetles. We have given in this work some of the known facts
regarding their habits, which are very curious. EichhofFs excellent
work in German on European bark-beetles is replete with fresh obser-
vations on these beetles. We may here draw attentiou to what Eich-
hoff says concerning some causes of the undue increase of these insects,
and their sudden appearance iu places not before frequented by them.
The chief factors iu the growth of bark-beetles are good weather and
sufficient nourishment. An uninterrupted dry, aud heuce hot, summer
checks the growth of the larva, and retards the speedy development
aud more often prevents a repetition of auother brood, than au unin-
terrupted wet aud cold spring and summer. Hence, on account of great
heat aud drought many trees survive which would otherwise be injured
by the later brood of bark-beetles. The most favorable conditions for
the increase of bark-beetles are doubtless a warm early spring and a
warm summer, with frequent rains and a long, mild autumu.
Other circumstances, says Eichhoff, favorable to the increase of bark-
beetles, are strong wiuds, snow, frosts, forest tires, the devastation
wrought by caterpillars, whereby the trees are more or less decorti-
REMEDIES AGAINST BARK-BEETJ.ES. 29
cated in places and .otherwise wounded, so that the beetles can gnaw
into the wood or inner bark, lay their eggs, and thus finally form brood-
galleries.
Eichhoff asks the pertinent question: " How do great numbers of
bark-beetles pass into regions where perhaps before they were scarcely
known by name ? For example, at the end of a period of fifty years,
-all at once Tomicus curvidens appeared in the Botanic Garden of the
University of Vienna, and were very destructive to different exotic
cedars, larches, etc., afterwards attacking white firs, which contained
numbers of the beetles.
The bark-borers, especially Tomicus typographies, belong to those in-
sects which sometimes produce extensive devastations by immigration
from without. According to a German writer they doubtless migrate
for short distances, since not seldom there result local destruction of
groups of firs when previously no bark-borers were to be seen. It is
also certain that forests previously entirely free from bark-beetles be-
come infested by bark-beecles bred in wood and lumber yards. It is
difficult and questionable how far such an immigration may extend.
An example of an extensive emigration of Tomicus typographus is
afforded by H. Tiedemann in the province of Mshny-Novgorod.
In the midst of an imperial forest of about 2,500 ha lying in the district Arsamass,
and composed almost exclusively of hard-wood trees, occur two fir-growths of 50,
perhaps 60, ha in extent. In both there was no windfalls, no burnt areas, but a good
close growth in which no bark-borers had appeared. Suddenly in the year 1883 the
bark -borers were so numerous that 2,000 fir trunks at once fell, and had to have the
bark stripped off and burnt. The appearance of the bark-beetles is in this case only
to be explained by their flying into this area. The nearest fir-growths are from 15
to 20 kilometers distant, and those of sufficient size to afford time for the infection of
the fir-growths in question, about 50 kilometers distant.
Perhaps the best method o preventing or stopping the work of bark-
beetles is that of a Frenchman, M. Robert, given in the Gardener's
Chronicle and quoted by Miss Ormerod:
The best remedy appears to be that adopted with great success in France by M.
Robert, after careful observation of the circumstances which stopped the operations
of the female beetle when gnawing her gallery for egg-laying, or which disagreed
with or destroyed the maggots, and is based in part on similar observations of the
effect of flow of sap to those noticed in England by Dr. Chapman.
It appeared on examination that the grubs died if they were not well protected
from the drying action of the air; on the other hand, if there was a very large
amount of sap in the vegetable tissues that they fed ou, this also killed them ; and
it was observed that when the female was boring through the bark, if a flow of sap
took place she abandoned the spot and went elsewhere. It was also noticed that the
attack (that is, the boring of the galleries which separates much of the bark from
the wood) is usually under thick old bark, such as that of old elm trunks rather
than under the thinuer bark of the branches. Working on these observations, M.
Robert had strips of about two inches wide cut out of the bark from the large
boughs down the trunk to the ground, and it was found that where the young bark
pressed forward to heal the wound and a vigorous flow of sap took place that-many
of the maggots near it were killed, the bark which had not been entirely undermined
was consolidated, and the health of the tree was improved.
30 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Working on from this, M. Robert tried tin* more extended treatment of paring off
the outer bark, ■ practice much used in Normandy and sometimes in England for re-
storing vigor ol growth to bark-bonnd apple trees, and noted by Andrew Knight as
giving a great stimulus t<» vegetation. M. Robert had the whole of the rough outer
bark removed from tbe elm (this may be done conveniently by a scraping-knife
shaped like a spoke-shave). Thi§ operation caused a great flow of sap in tbe inner
lining of the bark (the liber), and the grubs of tbe 8ooljftut beetle were found in
almost all cases to perish shortly after. Whether this occurred from the altered sap
disagreeing with them, or from the greater amount of moisture around them, or from
tbe maggots being more exposed to atmospheric changes, 01 any other cause, was
not ascertained, but the trees that were experimented on were cleared of the mag-
jmUs. 'flic treatment was applied on a large scale, and the barked trees were found,
att.r examination by the Commissioners of the Institute at two different periods, to
be in more vigorous health than the neighboring ones of which the bark was un-
touched. More than two thousand elms were thus treated.
This account is abridged from the leading article in the •' Gardener's Chronicle and
Agricultural Gazette," for April "J'J, 1848, and the method is well worth trying in our
public and private parks. It is not expensive: the principle on which it acts as re-
gards vegetable growth is a well-known one. and as regards insect health it is also
well known that a sudden flow of the sap that they feed on, or a sudden incre,
moisture around them, is very productive of unhealthiness or of fatal diarrhu-a to
vegetable feeding grnbs.
A somewhat similar process was tried by the Botanic Society, in 1842, on trees in-
fested by the Scolytus destructor in the belt of elms encircling their garden in the Re-
gents' Park, London. "It consists in divesting the tree of its rough outer bark, be-
ing careful at the infested parts to go deep enough to destroy the young larvae, and
dressing with the usual mixture of lime and cow-dung." This operation was found
very successful, and details with illustrations were given in a paper read in 1848 be-
fore the Botauic Society.
Various applications have been recommended, such as brushing the bark of infested
trees with coal-tar or with whitewash, in order to keep off the beetle attack. Any-
thing of this kind that would make the surface unpleasant to the beetle would cer-
tainly be of use so long as it was not of a nature to hurt the tree, and if previously
the very rugged bark was partially smoothed it would make the application of what-
ever mixture might be chosen easier and more thorough.
Anything that would catch the beetles, either going into or out from the bark, like
coal-tar, would be particularly useful, and probably strong-smelling and greasy mixt-
ures, such as fish-oil soft soap, would do much good.
Washing down the trunks of attacked trees has not been suggested, but, looking
at the dislike of the female beetle to moisture in her burrow, it would be worth while,
in the case of single trees which it was an object to preserve, to drench the bark daily
from a garden-engine for a short time when the beetles were seen (or known by the
wood-dust thrown out) to be at work forming burrows for egg-laying.
The possibility of carrying out the importaut point of clearing away or treating
infested standing trees depends, of course, on local circumstances; but, whatever
care is exercised in other ways, it is very unlikely that much good will be done in
lessening attack so long as the inexcusable practice continues of leaving the felled
trunks of infested elms lying, uith their hark still on, when containing myriads of
these maggots, which are all getting ready shortly to change to perfect beetles, and to
fly to the nearest growing elms.
Such neglected trunks may be seen in our parks and rural wood-yards all over the
country, where, without difficulty, the hand may be run under the bark so as to
detach feet and yards in length from the truuk all swarming with white Scolytus
maggots in their narrow galleries.
This bark, with its contents, ought never to be permitted to remain. Where it is
loose it may be cleared of many of the maggots by stripping it off and letting the
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 31
poultry have access to it; or, if still partly adhering, it may be ripped from the wood
by barking tools and burnt; but it is a tangible and serious cause of injury, and if
our landed proprietors were fully aware of the mischief thus caused to their own trees
and those of the neighborhood they would quickly get rid of it.
INSECTICIDES AND MEANS OF APPLYING THEM TO SHADE AND FOREST
TREES.*
This subject may be divided into two parts, viz, (1) a discussion of
insecticides and (2) a discussion of insecticide apparatus.
(1) insecticides. — Remedial measures against forest-tree insects
are not different from those employed against the insect enemies of fruit-
trees or farm and garden crops. The same species are frequently the
culprits in both cases ; and, in general, insects of the same orders and
families, having similar habits and requiring similar treatment, attack
wild-growing, woody plants aud the cultivated sorts.
For convenience of treatment, the first part may be considered under
the following heads : Insecticides which act through the food ; insecti-
cides which act by contact; fumigants and gases.
Insecticides which act through the food. — These insecticides
are available against all mandibulate insects that feed externally on the
leaves, such as the larvae of Lepidoptera, larvae and adults of leaf-
feeding beetles, and saw-fly larvae. Gall-insects, leaf-miners, and in-
sects which burrow beneath the bark or in the wood cannot be con-
trolled by these means.
It would be possible to enumerate under this heading a large number
of substances depending for their effects on arsenic, strychnine, or other
poisons, but I prefer to limit the discussion to the consideration of two
substances which are now commonly used to the exclusion of nearly all
others.
Paris green and London purple. — The arsenites of copper and cal-
cium, Paris green and London purple, are so well known as not to
need particular description here. The safety and efficiency with which
they can be used and their slight cost fully satisfy all the demands
of practical work.
As containing records of a general nature, together with full in-
structions for the use of these poisons, I can not do better than quote
from Bulletin No. 10 of the division of entomology,! the conclusions
being based on experiments under my direction, especially by the late
Dr. W. S. Barnard.
The quotation refers particularly to work against the imported Elm
leaf- beetle (Galeruca xanthomelama) and deals with the treatment of
elm trees only, but the results obtained may apply to other insects
infesting various shade and forest trees. The recommendation given
• 'Prepared, at the author's request, by Professor Riley.
t Our Shade Trees and Their Insect Defoliators, by C. V. Riley, Entomologist,
Washington, 1887. Second revised edition, 1888.
32 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
will Deed to be modified to correspond with the varying conditions in
habits and life-history of any particular species, as found detailed in the
following pages of Dr. Packard's report :
l-jj',i/s >>f Argenioal Poi$om on Insect and l'lant. — Species of elms are somewhat
differently affected by the poison. When treated alike there is always manifest some
difference in the susceptibility of differed elms t<> the corrosive effects of the poison.
Even individuals of the same .species or variety are differently impaired. As a rule,
those which snit the insect best are injured most by the poison, and those which
resist the insect most withstand the DOISOD best. The latter have coarser foliage
with a darker green color and more vigorous general growth ; the former have more
delicate foliage, lighter in color and weight, apparently less succulent.
Certain elms of the species l'. oampettrU and other species which were over-
poisoned, and shed most of their leaves in consequence in the last of June. L883, sent
out a profuse new growth of leaves and twigs. The foliage fell gradually for three
weeks, and this was somewhat promoted by the succeeding rains.
The larva' move from place to place so seldom that, if the leaves are imperfectly
poisoned from the mixture being weakly diluted or from its application only in large,
scattered drops, which are much avoided by the larva-, they are not killed off thor-
oughly for several days, and in all cases it requires considerable time to attain the
full effect of the poison. This result appears on the plant and on the insect. After
each rain the poison takes a new effect upon the plant and the pest, which indicates
that the poison is absorbed more or is more active when wet, and that it acts by de-
hydrating thereafter. Where the tree is too strongly poisoned, each rain causes a
new lot of leaves to become discolored by the poison or to fall. On some of the trees
the discoloration appears in brown, dead blotches on the foliage, chiefly about the
gnawed places and margins, while in other instances many of the leaves turn yellow,
and others fall without change of color. The latter may not all drop from the effects
of poison, but the coloration referred to is without doubt generally from the caustic
action. The poison not only produces the local effects from contact action on the
parts touched by it, but following this there appears a more general effect, manifest
in that all the foliage appears to lose, to some extent, its freshness and vitality.
This secondary influence is probably from poisoning of the sap in a moderate degree.
When this is once observable, no leaf-eater thrives upon the foliage. Slight over-
poisoning seems to have a tonic or invigorating effect on the tree.
Preventive Effects of the Poison. — In this grove the elms that were poisoned in 1882
were attacked in the spring of 1883 less severely than were those which were not
poisoned the previous year. This would seem to imply that the insects deposit mostly
on the trees nearest to where they develop, and are only partially migratory before
ovipositing. The attack afterward became increased, probably by immigration and
the new generation, so that later in the season the trees were mostly infested to the
usual extent.
In the region of Washington a preventive application of poison should be made before the
last of May or first of June, when the eggs are being deposited and before they hatch.
This will prevent the worms from ever getting a start. By the preventive method
the tree escapee two kinds of injury: first, that directly from the eating by the in-
sect ; second, that which follows indirectly from the deleterious effects of the poison
on the plant, for its caustic effect is much greater where the leaves have been so
gnawed that the poison comes in contact with tl»e sap.
Treatment with London Purple. — Already early in June the insect appears plentiful.
On June 7, 1882, it was at work on all the trees, and its clusters of eggs were numer-
ous beneath the leaves. Some of the trees had half of the leaves considerably gnawed
and perforated by larva' of all sizes, and by the adults. At this date fifteen trees.
constituting the south part of the grove, were treated.
Preparation of the Poison. — London purple (one-half pound), flour (3 quarts), and
water (barrel, 40 gallons) were mixed as follows: A large galvanized iron funnel of
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 33
thirteen quarts capacity, and having a cross-septum of fine wire gauze, such as is used
for sieves, also having vertical sides, and a rim to keep it from rocking on the barrel,
was used. About three quarts of cheap flour were placed in the funnel and washed
through the wire gauze by water poured in.' The flour in passing through is finely
divided, and will diffuse in the water without appearing in lumps. The flour is a suit-
able medium to make the poison adhesive. The London purple is then placed upon
the gauze and washed in by the remainder of the water until the barrel is filled. In
other tests the flour was mixed dry with the poison powder, and both were afterward
washed through together with good results. It is thought that by mixing in this
way less flour will suffice. Three-eighths of a pound of London purple to one barrel of
water maybe taken as a suitable percentage. Three-eighths of an ounce may be used
as an equivalent in one bucketful of water. The amount of this poison was reduced
to one-fourth of a pound to the barrel with good effect, but this seems to be the min-
imum quantity, and to be of value it must be applied in favorable weather and with
unusual thoroughness. With one-half or three-fourths of a pound to the barrel,
about the maximum strength allowable is attained, and this should be applied only
as an extremely fine mist, without drenching the foliage.
Effects of the Mixture. — The flour seems to keep the poison from taking effect on the
leaf, preventing to some extent the corrosive injury which otherwise obtains when
the poison is coarsely sprinkled or too strong. It also renders the poison more per-
manent. On the leaves, especially on the under surfaces, the London purple and
flour can be seen for several weeks after it has been applied, and the insect is not
only destroyed, but is prevented from reappearing, at least for a long period. By
poisoning again, a few weeks later, the insect is deterred with greater certainty for
the entire season. By being careful to administer the poison before the insect has
worked, and, above all, to diffuse the spray finely, but not in large drops, no harm
worth mentioning will accrue to the plant from the proportion of poison recom-
mended. The new growth, that developed after the first poisoning, was protected
by one-fourth of a pound to the barrel in 1882. From midsummer until autumn the
uupoisoned half of the grove remained denuded of foliage, while the poisoned half
retained its verdure. The little damage then appearing in the protected part was
mostly done before the first treatment. Eggs were laid abundantly throughout the
season. Many of these seemed unhealthy and failed to develop, probably because
they were poisoned. Many hatched, but the young larvae soon died. The eggs were
seldom deposited on the young leaves that were appearing after the poison was ap-
plied, but were attached to the developed leaves, and here the larvae generally got
the poison to prevent their attack upon the aftergrowth. Still the young leaves be-
came perforated to some extent. The adults, which fly from tree to tree, appeared
plentifully without much interruption throughout the season, and often several
could be seen feeding on each tree. Possibly many of these may have become poi-
soned before depositing the eggs.
The efficiency of London purple being established, it will generally be preferred to
other arsenicals, because of its cheapness, better diffusibility, visibility on the foli-
age, etc. As the effects of the poisons commonly do not appear decidedly for two or
three days after their administration, the importance of the preventive method of
poisoning in advance can not be too strongly urged. As the effect is slow in appear-
ing, impatient parties will be apt to repoison on the second or third day, and thus
put on enough to hurt the plant when the effect does come. Much depends on dry-
ness or wetness of the weather ; but good effects may be expected by the third or
fourth day.
London purple seems to injure the plant less than Paris green.
Treatment with Paris green.— In 1883 the Paris green was first applied on the 29th of
May, at which date the eggs were extremely abundant and hatching rapidly on the
leaves. Paris green, flour, and water were mixed by the means previously employed
with London purple and already described. The mixture was applied to the north
part of the same grove of elms. Thus far experience shows that the Paris green is
5 ENT 4
34 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
effective against thfl Insect, but that this- poison injures the plant more than does the
London pniple.
Three-fonrthfl <»t'a ponnd of Paris greeo to ■ ban.] :;r, of 10 gallons) of water, with
:> quarts of flour, may be regarded ss ■ poison mixture «>t" medium or average strength
fol treating elms against these beetles, and tin- indications thue l'ar are that the
amount of Pai is green should not be inereased above one pound or he diminished much
below one-hall a pound in this mixture. To a bucketful of water three-fourths
ounce of Paris green may be used. The action of this poison is Blow but severe, and
varies much with the weather. Thus far the results of fcOSte have been varied no much
by the weather and different modes of preparation and application that they will be
repeated. When u>ed strong enough to cauterize the leaves the poisonous action
upon the plant may be observed to continue for several TTTttdre
The species of Limits are quite susceptible to the effects of poison,
perhaps as much so as any common species of forest tree. But little
can be added to the above quotation, as there are few experiments re-
corded concerning work of this kind on other forest trees. With fruit
trees and vines there is a large experience, and the results indicate
That either of these arsenicals can be safely used on the most tender
plants in proportion of 1 pound to 100 gallons of water, if properly
atomized. Strong, hardy plants readily stand a strength of 1 pound
to 50 gallons of water, if applied with proper care. It is safe to con-
clude that between these two limits a strength suitable for all plants
may be obtained.
A thoroughly atomized weak mixture will, under favorable con-
ditions, prove as efficient as the stronger ones ; but in wet, showery-
weather weak applications are more liable to be washed off.
Properly atomizing the liquid is of the greatest importance, for only
by this means can all the foliage be reached. The even distribution
thus obtained enables the leaves to retain a greater amount of the
poison with less injury than when sprayed in coarse drops.
Insecticides which act by contact. — This class of remedies
apply principally to non-masticating insects, i. e., those which take
their food through a sucking-tube or proboscis, such as the plant-
bugs, aphids, and scale insects. They may. however, often be suc-
cessfully applied to soft-bodied maudibulate insects, in lieu of the
poisonous mixtures.
There are a great variety of substances, such as alkaline washes
and powders, and preparations of oils, and particularly the products of
petroleum, which have been successfully used on insects affecting
roots, trunks, branches, and foliage of trees. The experimental data
concerning them have been mostly obtained from cultivated fruit trees
and vines, but they will prove equally available against the similar
enemies of forest trees.
Wood Ashes and Lime. — Of alkaline powders, wood ashes aud slaked
lime are commonly used either pure or in mixtures around the bases of
trees or interred in the earth among the roots of plants to destroy root
aphids or other insects affecting the roots. Xo definite instructions
concerning their use can be given, as both substances vary as to strength,
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 35
aud the conditions of application also vary greatly. Unleached wood
ashes should not be applied too freely in contact with the body of the
tree or the roots, since water leaching through them may contain pot-
ash enough to iujure the plant. Lime in any reasonable quantity could
hardly cause injury. The application of either of these is generally
beneficial and tends to destroy and repel insects from the base and roots
of trees. The ashes act beuficially as a fertilizer.
Coal Ashes and coal Bust. — Coal ashes and coal dust have been used
for this purpose, but their effects could only be mechanical, and, while
doubtless of value to the plant as a mulching, could have but little
effect on insects. The beneficial effects of either of these used dusted
on the plant are doubtful, except in cases of soft-bodied slugs (saw-fly
larvae), where their action is generally good.
Pyrethrum, Hellebore, Sulphur. — These well known insecticides may
be used in powdered form or may be mixed with water and applied in
a spray. While they can not be recommended for general forest work,
cases will frequently arise warranting their use in a limited way against
aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Hellebore is of especial value
against saw-fly larvae. Sulphur is a valuable agent against the red
spider (Tetranychus telarius) and may be used alone or in connection
with emulsion of kerosene.
Alkaline lYashes : potash Lye and soda Lye. — Alkaline washes are
solutions of crude soda or potash, or soap preparations of these sub-
stances. Concentrated soda or potash lye can be purchased at the
stores, and are often used as washes for aphids and coccids with con-
siderable success. Of these the potash lye is to be preferred, as its
action on the tree is not so harmful as the soda lye. The best possible
source of a caustic wash is the potash lye leached from wood ashes*
Crude lye washes should be used with caution, since when too strong
it injures both branches and foliage. Definite statements as to the
strength to be used can not be made. The different brands of concen-
trated lye vary much in composition, so that it will always be advisable
to make test applications before general work is attempted. In the
preparation of washes, one can (1 pound) of lye is dissolved in from 3
to 5 gallons of water; the stronger solution is very injurious to tender
plants, and even the weaker one is entirely too harsh for a safe wash ;
yet, if diluted much more, its effect on the iusect will be impaired.
The same quantity of lye used in the preparation of a soap will give
better results, and its use will not then be attended with like danger
to the plant.
Alkali?ie Washes : Soaps. — Soap preparations are made from either of
the above lyes with grease or oils of any kind and in my experience are
much preferable to the crude lyes.
Auy soft or jelly soap makes a good wash for Aphides, and for this
purpose need not be strong ; for Coccids the strength should be greater.
The preparation known as " whale-oil " soap has a more or less stand-
36 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
aid strength and has long been used as an insecticide wash. It is made
from various fish oils and fish-oil residue with caustic soda. Better
success attends (he use of jelly soaps made directly from fish oil and
concentrated lye. with water, using about three gallons of water, three
pints of fish-oil, and one can of lye. Various preparations of this nature
can easily be made. Coarse grease does not make so good asoap as oils.
The whale-oil soap sold in the stores is used in solutions of one pound
in two to five gallons of water, experiment being necessary to deter-
mine what strength will be efficient. The jelly-soap made as mentioned
above has been successfully used on Aphides, when fresh, in strength of
1 pound to 8 gallons of water. For most work, however, it would need
to be stronger.
Petroleum Products: Kerosene, Naphtha, etc. — Among the washes of an
insecticide nature which kill by contact there is probably nothing equal
to the preparations from petroleum. Of these it is only necessary to
notice those made from kerosene, as experience has fully demonstrated
the value of this product for insecticide work. In most instances either
the low or high grade can be used with equally good effect. Kerosene,
naphtha and some of the lighter products of petroleum have beeu used
pure.
Naphtha and the lighter products of petroleum can be used in this man-
ner with safety to most plants, but the destructive effect on the insects
is by no means satisfactory. The use of kerosene pure is, however, at-
tended with danger and should never be undertaken except in a small
way and with the utmost care. Finely atomized, I have employed it with
some success, especially on oranges and certain conifers in years gone
by, before the emulsions were discovered.
Kerosene Emulsions. — The ease and practicability of emulsifying and
diluting kerosene to any desired strength have been so fully demon-
strated in the course of the work of the division of entomology under
my direction that there is no longer need of attempting its use pure.
The methods of emulsificatiou have been so fully set forth elsewhere
that it is unnecessary to undertake their discussion here more than
in the nature of general instructions.
An emulsion, if properly made, always contains a greater per cent,
of kerosene than of the other ingredients. This per cent, may vary
from 60 per cent, to 90 per cent., but experiment has shown that 66 per
cent kerosene will give the most satisfactory results.
The formula for the preparation of kerosene emulsion ordinarily
recommended by me is the one originated by my former agent, Mr. H.
G. Hubbard, in his work against orange insects. It is as follows:
Kerosene - 2 gallons = 67 per cent.
Common soap, or whale-oil soap i pound ( _ 33 ,,er cent
Water 1 gallon $ ]
Dissolve the soap in the water by heating and add the solution,
boiling hot, to the keroseue and churn the mixture by means of a
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 37
force-pump and spray-nozzle for five minutes. The emulsion, if per-
fect, forms a cream which thickens on cooling and should adhere with-
out oiliness to the surface of glass. Dilute, before using, one part of
the emulsion with nine parts of cold water. The above formula makes
3 gallons of emulsion, and when diluted gives 30 gallons of wash.
Resin Washes. — Various compounds of resin and emulsions of resin
with kerosene are now being extensively used in California against scale-
insects and other enemies of the orange tree. Resin compounds were
first used as an insecticide by one of my agents, Mr. Albert Koebele,
and his experiments with this substance are given in full in my annual
reports as United States Entomologist for 1886 and 1887, and addi-
tional experiments by Mr. Coquillett are given in the report for 1888.
Mr. Koebele had good success with the resin compound prepared as
follows : Dissolve 3 pounds of sal-soda and 4 pounds of resin in 3 pints
of water above fire ; when properly dissolved, add water slowly, while
boiling, to make 36 pints of compound. A very strong solution of this
was used on pear tiees without injury to the foliage, the solution con-
sisting of 3 pints of the compound to 4 of water. Numerous successful
experiments were made with one part of the compound and 8 parts of
water, and this strength for most purposes will be sufficient.
Mr. Coquillett has found the following to be an excellent formula for
the preparation of this compound:*
Caustic soda pound . . 1
Resiu pounds.. 8
Water to make gallons . . 32
Dissolve by boiling the caustic soda in a gallon of water ; add the resin to one half
the soda solution and dissolve it by boiling ; add the remainder of the soda solution
and boil over a hot fire, stirring constantly. When sufficiently cooked it will assim-
ilate with water like milk, which it much resembles. Add water and strain through
a fiue sieve.
An emulsion of kerosene with resin compound was satisfactorily ac-
complished by taking equal parts of both substances and working them
together for two minutes with a pump. This emulsion is not so stable
as the emulsion with soap, but is eminently effective against scale-
insects and Aphides. At my suggestion the addition of arsenic in the
proportion of 1 pound to from 75 to 300 gallons of the resin, or resiu
and kerosene wash, was made, and this addition was found to greatly
increase the efficiency of these insecticides.
The value of these insecticides for the protection of shade and orna-
mental trees, which, where scale-insects abound, are as liable to attack
and injury as the various fruit trees, need not here be emphasized.
Fumigants — Gases. — The destruction of hot-house pests by fumiga-
tion with sulphur, tobacco, or other noxious substances has long been
practiced. The application of such methods to trees on a large scale is,
however, of recent origin.
The experiments of the last few years conducted by my California
agent, Mr. D. W. Coquillett, relating to the use of poisonous fumes* or
gases against the scale-insects of citrous trees have been attended with
*See Rep. of the U. S. Entomologist "for 1838, p. 130.
38 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
such good results that the value of this comparatively new method of
combating out-of-door insects is now well established. It is not to be
supposed that work of this kind can be carried on in the case of forest
trees, except on a very limited scale, to protect cherished trees in lawns
or parks. This treatment is also effective against Aphides and leaf-
mites — and indeed is calculated to destroy any insects whatever.
Hydrocyanic acid (las. — Of the several gases experimented with by
Mr. Coquillett, of which full accounts are given in my annual reports as
Entomologist for 1S87 and 1>S8, the one named has given much the
best results.
A number of methods of generating this gas have been devised, of
which the most satisfactory is now known as the k- dry-gas process."
The necessity of drying the gas was very evident from the first, for
it was found that the injury to foliage was very serious when the gases
were charged with any considerable amount of aqueous vapor. In the
dry-gas process the cyanide is dissolved by boiling in water for a few
minutes, using I gallon of water for each 5 pounds of cyanide. To
generate the gas, sulphuric acid is caused to flow upon the cyanide
solution in a tine stream, causing the gas to be rapidly given off in the
form of a whitish fog. The moisture is taken up by passing the gas
through sulphuric acid, which by reason of the water taken up becomes
diluted, but may still be employed to generate fresh quantities of gas.
The gas is confined to the trees under treatment by means of a suit-
able canvas tent or fumigator, of which a number of styles have been
patented. They are constructed so as to be lowered over the tree from
above or to inclose it from the sides. Full details for the construction
of these tents, together with figures, are given in the reports cited
above, to which the reader is referred, also for a detailed account of
the use of various gases.
INSECTICIDE apparatus.— The application of insecticides to fruit
or forest trees maybe successfully accomplished by the use of the same
devices employed in the case of low-growing plants, except that more
force will be required as a rule, and hence larger and stronger machinery.
The treatment of young trees or application to the lower part of the
trunk or to the base or roots of larger ones may easily be effected by
hand, but in the case of the branches and foliage of large trees other
means must be employed.
As has been already indicated, the principal insecticides are now
used in the liquid form, and particularly in the case of work against
the insect enemies of forest trees will this method prove the only prac-
ticable one. The use of insecticides in the form of powders will occasion-
ally be desirable, however, and heuce the treatment of the second part
of the subject may be discussed under (1) devices for applying pow-
ders aud (2) devices for applying liquids.
Devices for Applying Powders. — Powder Blowers. — The appli-
cation of powders to trees may be successfully accomplished by the
use of long-discharge-tube power-bellows.
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 39
The Woodason Bellows. — With one of the double-cone bellows manu-
factured by Thomas Woodason, Philadelphia, Pa., or other bellows of
similar pattern, it is possible to reach branches eight or ten feet high
quite readily, and by mounting into the tree, or by means of a ladder,
quite effective work can be done on trees ot moderate size.
The Leggett Brothers' orchard Gun. — Quite recently the Leggett
Brothers, of New York City, have invented what they call an "orchard
gun, n a machine for the application of powders to foliage beyond the
reach of the ordinary hand-bellows.
This device has been tested in the work of the Entomological Division
and promises for certain kinds of work to be a very useful implement.
It is constructed of tin tubing 1J inches in diameter made in sections
so as to be easily adjusted to any length desired up to 16 feet. On the
second section from the base of the device is arranged a small fan 4£
inches in diameter propelled by a crank and cog-gearing of such rela-
tive diameters that one revolution of the crank gives thirty of the fan.
This delivers a strong blast into the distal portion of the tube or gur.
Just above the fan is arranged on the upper side of the tube a can 8
inches long and 4 inches in diameter, from which the powder fed is into
the tube when the crank is turned by the following contrivance:
Between the can and tube is a flat perforated surface its entire
leugth, and along this surface plays a set of sliding arms attached to a
piston-rod which is thrust forward and backward with each revolu-
tion of the crank. This sifts into the tube just the amount of powder
necessary to supply a constant but extremely diffuse blast. The short-
est working length of the gun is 5 feet, and in this length it serves
for all ordinary work of applying powder. The weight of the imple-
ment when full length is 7 pounds. The length could be easily increased
without impairing the efficiency of the implement, except that it would
become too heavy and unwieldly.
Devices for applying liquids.— For the application of liquids to
trees the requisites are a good force-pump and a suitable nozzle, and of
both of them there is no scarcity of styles manufactured in this country.'
In fact, the abundance of pumps, nozzles, and spraying devices tends to
confuse the would-be purchaser and makes it the more necessary that
the characteristics of a good apparatus should be carefully pointed out.
The Pump.— While secondary in importance to the nozzle, a suitable
force-pump is very essential to successful work. As I have previously
stated, the nature of the work under discussion precludes the use of
any but the more powerful machines, except for comparatively limited
operations, where any of the smaller hand pu mps, aquapults, hydro-
nettes, or syringes may be used.
In the case of tall trees in parks, such as elms, which frequently attain a
height of 40 or 50 feet or more, I have recommended the use of fire en-
gines, with which the liquid might be thrown to a considerable distance
and, by the force of the discharge, caused to break up into an efficient
spray.
40 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The same end maybe more easily attained, perhaps, by using, in con-
nection with a good barrel or tank
force pump, long hose with suitable
supports, so that the spray may be
brought to bear on the upper pur
tion of the tree. Devices for this
purpose will be described later on.
Several forms of pumps are be-
ing manufactured in this country
with which satisfactory work may
be done, and in the list of manu-
facturers of insecticide apparatus
appended to this article are given
a number of addresses of reliable
firms whose pumps I have used
and can recommend.
1 will content myself here with
describing somewhat fully a force-
pump which, in the work of the
United States Entomological Com-
mission and of the Division of En-
tomology, has proved itself well
adapted to the purposes desired.
The double Cylinder brass Pump. —
The special recommendation of this
pump is the more freely given from
the fact that at present no one holds
a patent on it and various modifi-
cations embracing the essential fea-
tures are largely manufactured in
different parts of the country. At-
tention was directed to the advan-
tages of this pump in the work of
the commission, and it is illustrated
in section and also in operation
at plate XLVI of the fourth re-
port. The pump, fitted in a barrel
with stirrer attachment, there illus-
trated, was specially constructed by
Dr. Barnard, and has been several
times mentioned and illustrated in
Fig. 7.-Double cylinder brass pump. other official reports.
The appended illustration (Fig. 7) is a sectional view of a similar pump
now in use by the Division.
The essential features of this pump are an outer cylinder a and an
inner cylinder a\ which may be called the piston cylinder. This inner
cylinder is provided with a valve, />, similar to the valve iut he outer cyl-
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS.
41
inder bl and above the valve b the inner cylinder is closed as shown in
the cut. Thus it represents a displacement cylinder and its capacity
bears such a relation to the outer cylinder that on the downward stroke
it displaces a body of water equal to that taken up by the upward
stroke of the piston, thus producing a constant pressure in a simple
single-barreled pump.
The packing >d is held in place by a metal follower and fits snugly to
the inner surface of the outer cylinder. The pipe, c, is of rubber hose and
made of any length desired to suit the depth of cask or tank and with
a fine wire strainer on the bottom. The head of the pump is of cast iron
and bulged to allow room for a considerable head of water j iron flanges
extend out from its lower part and furnish support by which it is bolted
to the tank. All of the working parts are brass. The packing burr and
follower around the upper end of the piston cylinder are the same style
as ordinarily used with steam machinery so as to withstand any reason-
able pressure. The head to which is attached the compensating bar
screws into the top of the piston cylinder. The outlet is tapped through
the bulged cast-iron head, and the pressure is much better if a good-
sized air chamber is attached to the discharge pipe just outside of the
pump head.
The pump from which Fig. 7 was made has two discharge pipes, and
one man easily supplies pressure for two ordinary streams of spray.
Fig. 8.— Single-discharge pump.
Fig. 8 shows a similar pump entire, fitted with a single discharge pipe.
42
VIVIU REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
This style of pump is especially convenient from the fact that it can
readily be bolted on to a tank of almost any shape or dimensions.
The fulcrum post is not cast with the flange-plate, but bolts to it.
The stirrer Pump. — A barrel-tank, with pump similar to the one just
described, attached, as used in the work of the commission in the cot-
ton -tields, has already been referred to and is hgured in the fourth
report.
Host and Bamboo extension Rod. — The hose commonly used on spray
apparatus is half-inch in internal diameter, or even larger. This size is
entirely unnecessary and entails extra labor upon the
operator ; it is, moreover, quite difficult to get a small
extension-rod of any length sufficiently strong to carry
such a hose. In the work of the Division of Ento-
mology I have found that a good quality of quarter-
inch cloth insertion rubber tubing is sufficiently strong
for all ordinary work. No spray-nozzle used by hand
power will require a stronger stream than this will
carry. In some work it is convenient and necessary
to have as much as 30 feet of discharge-pipe, and
where this small tubing is used it can readily be
handled.
For elevating the nozzle among the branches, a bam-
boo rod with the septa burned out so that the rubber
tubing may be passed through, and made in sections to
be adjusted to the desired length, is the most useful
contrivance. If this is large enough to admit the tube
to pass up the center, and is provided with a clamp at
the top to hold the nozzle vertical or in any direction
desired, it is superior to any other device which I have
ever used. The smaller southern cane, so commonly
used for fishing tackle, makes a very good supporting-
rod, but in such case the discharge-pipe must be fast-
ened to the outside by means of suitable spring
clasps.
Fig. 9 shows a section of an extension pole of the
sort first mentioned above. A special feature of this
pole is the washer j. which prevents the drip from
trickling down the pole upon the operator. It is cut
out of a heavy piece of sole leather and fitted snugly over the rod a
few inches below the nozzle.
By means of this supporting pole, trees below 20 feet in height can
readily be sprayed. For higher trees, I know of nothing better than
a ladder mounted on wheels so as to be easily moved from tree to tree,
such as has been used in California in the work against the Fluted
scale. This ladder is supported so that it does not rest against the
tree, and the operator can move up and down without being hindered
by projecting branches.
Fu;.9.— Parts of hose
pole device for
spraying trees:
bamboo pole, 6 b ,•
drip washr.j; hose
h X; side liook. P ;
eddy chamber no*-
zle, n m,- spray, 2*,
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS.
43
44
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Fig. 10 is taken from my annual report as United States Eutoinolo^ist
for 188C. It represents a spraying outfit in operation against the Fluted
scale (Icerija purchaM), and indicates sufficiently well the use of tbe lad-
der just referred to, and also of tbe extension poles.
In Garden and Forest for June 19, 1889, Prof. J. B. Smith, entomol-
ogist of the New Jersey experimental station, reports the successful
spraying of elm trees in the Rutgers College campus, some of which
were over 50 feet high. A Seneca Falls force-pump, provided with
some 50 feet of hose, was used. By removing the spraying attachment
from the nozzle — a large-size Nixon — the liquid could be thrown in a
small stream to a distance of 20 feet. A light ladder gave access to
the center of the tree, from which point the extreme tips of the
branches could be reached.
Nozzles. — In any device for applying liquid insecticides the nozzle is
of prime importance, for on its efficiency will depend in large degree
the success or failure of the work. The desiderata in a spray nozzle,
as I have elsewhere stated, are "ready regulation of the volume to be
thrown ; greatest atomizing power with least tendency to clog ; facility
of cleansing, or ready separation of its component parts; cheapness ;
simplicity and adjustability to any angle."
Without attempting a general discussion of the merits of different
classes of nozzles, I shall content myself with a brief reference to a few
styles, which, to a greater or less degree, answer the conditions just
enumerated and which have stood the test of practical work.
The Riley or cyclone Nozzle. — This nozzle is now so widely known as
hardly to require description. As there have been some erroneous state-
ments as to its Invention, I may take occasion here to reiterate what was
recorded in the fourth report of the commission, viz: that it was a devel-
opment and outgrowth of my work on the Cotton Worm, the first sug-
gestion of the principle being my own and its development resulting
Fk;. IL— The Riley or cyclone Nozzle.
from two years' experimentation under my direction and chiefly through
the assistance of the late Dr. W. S. Barnard. u Its principal feature con-
sists in the inlet through which the liquid is forced being bored tangeu-
tially through its wall, so as to cause a rapid whirling or centrifugal
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 45
motion of the liquid, which issues in a funnel-shaped spray through a
central outlet in the adjustable cap. The breadth or height, fineness or
coarseness of the spray depend on certain details in the proportion of
the parts, particularly of the central outlet."
Fig. 11 shows two styles of this nozzle, which I have adopted from a
host of experimental forms as the best for all ordinary work. At A is
shown the typical small-stemmed nozzle, with the screw cap removed
to show the inlet orifice d. At B is shown a sectional view of the same
again with the cap removed, showing the tangential entrance to the
chamber a through the orifice e, which when the cap is inserted coincides
with the orifice d. At 0 is shown a face view of the cap c, which should
be countersunk about the orifice of exit on the exterior surface only ;
and also an outline drawing of a chamber placed at an angle of 45°
with the stem — a form of advantage especially in overhead spraying.
The stem may be inserted into the discharge-pipe and fastened by
wrapping tightly with copper wire, or a more convenient form is made
with a female screw of a size to fit a three-eighth inch nipple. The
nipple is inserted into the discharge-pipe and fastened in the ordinary
manner, and allows an easy interchange of nozzles of different sizes or
patterns. A discharge orifice of about one-sixty-fourth of an inch may
be used for a very fine spray ; for coarser and heavier work a one-six-
teenth-inch orifice will be preferable.
The value of rotating the liquid to break it up into a suitable spray
and to prevent clogging, which are the essential features of the Riley
nozzle, has been universally recognized.
In this country, owing to the fact that this nozzle has not been pat-
ented and is not pushed by interested parties as are patented contriv-
ances, it has not come into such general use as its merits warrant or
as has accompanied the introduction of patented modifications of it in
other countries. It is now, however, being quite extensively manufact-
ured and offered by the trade, and a number of modifications of this
nozzle have appeared in France, which, while adding certain new feat-
ures, have not departed from the valuable principle of the typical form,
viz : that of the centrifugal motion of the liquid. These nozzles are
employed in France, Germany, and other European countries almost
to the exclusion of all other forms, and in this country they are also
extensively used. More recently a valuable modification has appeared
in this country, the Universal Spray Tip, and in New Zealand a com-
pound form is manufactured, known as the New Zealand Triplet, and
fashioned after one which I used and described in California in 1887.
A full description of the important modifications of the Riley nozzle
that have appeared in this and in foreign countries is given by me in
Insect Life, Vol. I, Nos. 8 and 9, to which the reader is referred for fuller
details.
In this country, these nozzles are manufactured under contract, for
dealers, by Thomas Somerville & Son, Washington, D. C, and by
46
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Woodio & Little, 509 and 511, Market street, San Francisco, Cal. The
universal spray tip, the only valuable modification of the Riley nozzle
that has appeared in this country, is the invention of and is inauu-
iaetured by J. Crofton and L. 1). Green, Walnut Grove, Cal.
The addresses of the manufacturers of the foreign modifications of
the Riley nozzle are as follows:
The Noel nozzle, by the firm of Noel, Paris.
The Vermont nozzle, by V. Vermorel, Villefranche (Rhone), France.
Two modifications of the Vermorel nozzle are :
The J up j/ nozzle, by Japy Pre res & Cie, Beaucourt, France, and
The Albrand nozzle, by M. C. Albrand, 87 rue dela Republique, Mar-
seilles, Frauce.
The Marseilles nozzle, by L'Aveuir Viticole, Marseilles, Frajice.
In New Zealand the Riley nozzle is manufactured by Kutzuer Bros.,
of Masterton, who call it the American cyclone nozzle and make it
single and in triplets.
I will call attention here to but one of the most successful of these
modifications, which is shown in figure 12. It is known as the Vermorel
nozzle, and was devised by a gentleman of that name in France. The
Fig. 12.— The Vermorel Nozzle— natural size (original).
important feature of this nozzle is the pin inserted through its base,
bearing on its upper end a paint sufficiently small to enter the dis-
charge orifice when thrust upward from below. This enables the ope-
rator to clean the discharge, when it becomes clogged, and is a great
convenience, especially for spraying heavy suspension liquids.
The Xixon or Climax Nozzle. — This is the invention of Mr. A. H.
Nixon, of Dayton, Ohio. Its work is so satisfactory, especially where
considerable force is required, as will be generally the case in forest work,
that 1 notice it here. A nipple screws on the distal end of a discharge-
pipe, and on its outer end is screwed a brass tube varying in length and
diameter according to size of nozzle. The discharge orifice through the
nipple regulates the quantity of spray, and nipples with different sized
discharge orifices are interchangeable. The stream projected through
this nipple strikes a brass screen at the outer end of the tube and is cut
into a perfect spray.
REMEDIES AGAINST FOREST INSECTS. 47
Cost of a spraying Outfit. — In the foregoing I have presented briefly,
yet in sufficient detail, the essential requisites of a good spray apparatus.
An entire outfit, embracing the best materials mentioned above, can be
gotten together by an ingenious person for a sum not exceeding $20.
Outfits may be purchased from manufacturers at prices ranging from
#20 to $50, according to sizes or styles.
A list of responsible firms with whom the Division of Entomology
has had business relations is here appended :
W. & B. Douglass, Middletown, Conn.; Kumsey & Co., Seneca Falls,
25". Y.; Field Force-Pump Company, Lockport, N. Y.; Eobert T. Deakin
& Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Nixon Xozzle and Machine Company, Dayton,
Ohio ; Woodin & Little, San Francisco, Cal.; The Gould's Manufactur-
ing Company, Seneca Falls, N. Y.; Thomas Woodason, 451 East Cam-
bria street, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Leggett & Brother, New York.
Chapter I.
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE OAK.
Various species of Quercm.
The oak perhaps affords our most valuable lumber, whether ship-
timber, carriage wood, or when used for carved work, floors, or furniture.
As a shade tree it will always be in demand, while groves of oaks are
among the chief ornaments of parks. The oak can be easily planted,
and it is one of the trees most available in the renewal of our forests.
Unfortunately the oak is preyed upon by a larger number of kinds of in-
sects than perhaps all the other hard-wood forest trees mentioned in this
work put together. From the roots to the extremity of the smallest twigs,
including the buds and acorns, there are assemblages of insects which
divide the arboreal territory among themselves, not often encroaching
on each other's domain. In this way the work of destruction often be-
comes thoroughly well done. Yet, considering the number of species of
insects which prey upon this devoted tree, particularly when isolated from
its fellows, it is a wonder how evenly preserved is the balance of nature.
Undoubtedly, as in all other trees and most vegetable growths, a cer-
tain amount of natural, healthy pruning is accomplished by insects.
But were there not a complicated system of checks, particularly those
due to parasitic insects and to unfavorable climatic changes, the tide of
insect life would sweep away every tree and shrub from the face of the
earth.
In his work on " Plant-Enemies of the Class of Insects," Kaltenbach
enumerates five hundred and thirty-seven species of insects of all orders
which in Germany prey upon the oaks of that empire.
It is probable that nearly if not quite as many will be found in a re-
gion of the same extent in this country, especially since the species of
oaks are more numerous in the eastern United States than in central
Europe, the number of species in the latfer region being but two or
three to twenty in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.
The number of determined species of oak insects recorded in the fol-
lowing pages is over 400, while the number of undetermined species
would carry the number up to over 500, or about as many as Kaltenbach
48
INSECTS AFFECTING OAK-ROOTS. 49
records for Germany. It is not improbable that ultimately the number
of species for the United States will be between 600 and 800 or even
1,000.
We will now briefly indicate those species of insects which are habit-
ually more or less destructive to the oak.
The roots of the live and probably the water oak are infested by the
great longicorn borer, Mallodon melanopus, the trees being permanently
dwarfed and their growth arrested.
Of the borers in the trunk, the caterpillar of the Carpenter moth
(Prionoxystus robinice) probably does more damage than all other borers
combined. Next to this borer, come the flat- head borers, and. the bark-
borers, with the oak-pruner (Elaphidion villosum), while the seventeen-
year Cicada periodically prunes or destroys many of the twigs.
The leaves suffer most from the attacks of the forest tent-caterpillar
{Clisiocampa disstria) aud the large black- and-red-striped spiny cater-
pillar of the senatorial moth (Anisota senator ia). These two caterpillars
in the Atlantic aud Central States as a rule do more harm to oak for-
ests than perhaps all the other species combined.
Finally, many acorns are worm-eaten, the intruder being the grub of
the long-snouted weevil (Balaninus). We have, so far as practicable,
described the habits and appearance of the most destructive species
first.
AFFECTING THE ROOTS.
The roots of various species of oak are, without much doubt, more
or less injured by the attacks of the seventeen-year Cicada while in its
preparatory state, as it is known that this insect, so abundant in the
central and southern States of the Union, remains for over sixteen
years attached by its beak to the rootlets of the oak and probably other
forest trees, where it sucks the sap, thus in a greater or less degree in-
juring the health of the tree. Observations as to the subterranean
life of the seventeen-year locust are few aud obscure, and it is quite
uncertain how much injury is really done to trees by this habit. They
have sometimes been found sucking the sap of forest trees, notably the
oak, and also of fruit trees, such as the pear and apple. According to
Riley (First Keport, p. 24), the larvae are frequently found at great depth,
sometimes as much as 10 feet below the surface. It has been claimed
by Miss Margaret! a H. Morris, in an account published in 1846, that
pear trees have been killed by the larvae sucking the roots. This has
been denied by the late Dr. Smith, of Baltimore, who says :
The larva obtains its food from the small vegetable radicels that everywhere per-
vade the fertile earth. It takes its food from the surface of these roots, consisting of
the moist exudatiou (like animal perspiration), for which purpose its rostrum or snout
is provided with three exceedingly delicate capillaries or hairs, which project from
,the tube of the snout and sweep over the surface, gathering up the minute drops of -
moisture. This is its only food. The mode of taking it can be seen by a good glass. —
Prairie Farmer, December, 1851.
5 ENT 4
50 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Dr. Riley adds that Dr. Hall, of Alton, 111., has often found them
firmly attached to different roots by the legs, but never found the beaks
inserted. He remarks as follows :
Tin- tact that tiny will rise from land which has been cleaned of timber, cultivated,
and even built upon for over a dozen years, certainly contravenes Miss Morris's state-
ment, while their long subterranean existence precludes the necessity of rapid suc-
tion. It is also quite certain that if they thus killed trees we should oftener hear of
it, and I have captured a gigantic but unnamed species of Cicada on the plains of
Colorado, 50 miles from any tree other than a few scattering willows.
We would add that in June, in Idaho Territory, we have seen numer-
ous CicadaB which had just appeared above the surface of the earth in a
desert region with scattered sage bushes, upon whose roots, which it
is kuown descend to a great depth, the young may feed. While, then,
the Cicada may seldom do marked injury to the oak, the reader is re-
ferred to a subsequent page for a further notice of the injury done by
this insect to the twigs and smaller branches of the oak and other trees.
In Europe the roots of oaks are affected by a small wingless gall-fly,
which punctures the root and inserts an egg into the hole. The irrita-
tion set up by the presence of the larva causes the root to swell until a
tumor or gall is formed, in the center of which lies the white footless
larva or maggot of the fly.
Fitch has found similar wingless flies in this country, but they will
always remain objects rather of a scientific than economic interest. He
has described them under the names of Biorhizanigra, Philonix ful-
vicollis and nigricollis. They are wingless, and occur in forests in No-
vember and December, often walking on the snow in company with
other snow insects, such as Boreus and Chionea. There is also a root
gall, of which Professor Riley has detected a species. The known species
of root-galls are enumerated in Mr. Ashmead's catalogue of Cynipidae,
reprinted further on in this chapter, at the end of the section on insects
infesting oak twigs.
1. THE LIVE-OAK ROOT-BORER.
Mallodon melanopus Linn. (Larva. PI. xxxv, Fig. 1.)
Boring under ground in the roots of the live-oak and dwarfing the young trees in
Florida aud the Gulf States; a very large white grub, transforming to a large brown
longicorn beetle.
While in Florida, at Crescent City, I had an opportunity, owing to
the kindness of Mr. H. G. Hubbard, of collecting the grubs (described
below) and seeing the injury done by this borer to the live oaks.
The following account is taken from Professor Riley's report for 1884:
This beetle is one of our largest insects, being about two inches long and very
broad aud heavy. Its larva is a cylindrical grub, or " sawyer," about an inch in
thickness and over three inches in length.
In Texas Mr. Schwarz found the larva of this Mallodon excavating its galleries in
the heart-wood of the Hackberry (Celtis), a tree of the largest size. In Florida aud
elsewhere it feeds upon the live-oak, and it would seem that so large and powerful
a borer was well chosen to be the destroyer of this giant among trees.
OAK-ROOT BORERS. 51
In point of fact, however, in its connection with this tree the beetle shows a sur-
prising modification of its recorded habits. Its larva is found, not in the stem of the
mature tree so justly celebrated for its strength and toughness, but always in the
root of infant trees, and usually in degenerate highland varieties of Quercua virem,
or of its relatives, Q. aquatica and Q. cateabaei.
The mother beetle selects small saplings as a place of deposit for her eggs, which
are laid in the foot, or collar, of the tree, just below the surface of the ground.
How long a larval existence the insect has is not known, but it must extend over
several years, since the roots occupied by these larvae grow to a large size, while at
the same time they show an entirely abnormal development and become a tangle of
vegetable knots. In fact, the entire root in its growth accommodates itself to the
requirements of the borer within. Very few new roots are formed, but the old roots
excavated by the larva are constantly receiving additions of woody layers, which
are in turn eaten away and huge flattened galleries are formed, which are for the
most part tightly packed with sawdust.
The beetle thus becomes, not the destroyer, but the parasite of the tree, and lives
in a domicile, which may not improperly be termed a gigantic root-gall. The effect
on the tree is to kill the original sapling, which becomes replaced by a cluster of in-
significant and straggling suckers, forming perhaps a small clump of underbrush.
In many cases the branches and leaves are barely sufficient to supply the materials
for sluggish growth, and the entire strength of the plant goes toward the formation
of a root plexus, out of all proportion to the growth above ground, and plainly de-
signed to repair the ravages of the borer.
The Mallodon borers are very abundant in South Georgia and Florida, and as a
result of their attacks, vast tracks which might otherwise have become forests, en-
riching the ground with annual deposits of leaves, are reduced to comparatively bar-
ren scrub, in which the scattered oak bushes barely suffice to cover the surface of
the sand.
Many a new settler, seeing his sandy hill-side covered only by insignificant oak
bushes, and anticipating easy work in converting the wilderness into a blooming
garden of orange-trees, has been grievously disappointed to find before him no light
task in clearing from the soil these gnarled and tangled roots. In fact the great
strength and weight of the southern grubbing-hoe appears no longer a mystery when
one contemplates the astonishing pile of "grub roots" which in vigorous hands it
will extract from a few square rods of apparently unoccupied soil.
The results of the work of this beetle are very plainly visible around Savannah,
and especially on Tybee Island, where Mr. George Noble first drew our attention to
it; while Mr. Hubbard has carefully studied its work, as here recorded, in Florida.
{Riley's report, 1884.)
The genus Mallodon contains species of large size with the sides of the prothorax
armed with numerous small teeth. The head is comparatively large, the eyes
strongly granulated, distant, transverse, feebly emarginate. The antennas are slender,
not exceeding half the length of the body in the male and shorter in the female. The
sexual differences are worthy of note. The prothorax in the male is nearly quadrate,
densely punctured, with smooth separate facets, while in the female it is narrowed
in front, more coarsely punctured towards the sides, and uneven on the disk.
The present species is distinguished by the decidedly serrate prothorax, while the
tibiae are densely ciliated on the lower edge. It is dark brown, almost black.
Length, 45 to 55mm, (1.75 to 2.25 inches). It inhabits Florida, Arkansas and Texas. —
(Horn.)
Larva. — Body as large and thick as one's forefinger. It closely resembles the larva
of Orthosoma brunneum* in general appearance and proportions, but considerably
thicker. Shape of the prothoracic segment and size of the head and shape of the
* 1 have no larva of Prionus laticollls with which to compare it, and which it may
more closely resemble than Orthosoma.
52
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
mouth- parte much as in Orthosoma. Dorsal prothoracic plate ami the segment be-
neath as in Orthosoiua, hut on each side in front of and above the prothoracic feet is
a UUg6 hairy t aberole of which Orthosoiua has do traces. The remaining segments of
the body abore and beneath are almost identical in form nnd markinga with those of
Orthosoiua. The callosities on the upper side of the abdominal segments differ
slightly in having the transverse areas not divided by a median impressed line, as
they are in Orthosoiua (see PL xxxv, Fig. 1). The thoracic feel as in Orthosoiua, but
the spiracles are much larger in proportion.
Head as in Orthosoiua, except that the front edge of the epierauiuin next to the
clypcus is smooth and straight, not dentate, as in Orthosoiua (PI. xxxv. Fig. \a).
Clypeusand lahrum identical iu form with those of Orthosoma. but the stiff bristh-> on
the front edge of the labium are considerably longer. Antenna- three-jointed and as in
Orthosoiua, as is the shape of the labium with its two-jointed palpi; the latter, how-
ever, much stouter, though not reaching beyond the end of the labrum. Maxilla
as iu Orthosoiua, but the four-jointed palpi are a little stouter. Length of body,
87mm (3jo inches); breadth of prothoracic segment, 201""1.
2. THE BROAD-NECKED PRIONUS.
Prio**s laticoUis (Drury).
Fir.. 13.— Broad-necked Prionus. its larva and pupa. After Riley.
Though usually living in the roots and trunks of the poplar and balm-
of-Gilead, Mr. F. Clarkson states that at Oak Hill, Columbia County,
N. Y., this borer infests the black oak, the beetle emerging at twilight
during the first two weeks in July.
Their presence is quickly realized by the odor of the female, which is very power-
ful, and can readily be detected 20 feet distant. I placed a female immediately
after emergence in an uncovered jar. and wherever I positioned it, on the piazza or
elsewhere, the males were attracted from every directiou. I captured twenty males
OAK-BORERS.
53
in a very few minutes. Oak Hill can not boast of a balm-of-Gilead or a Lombardy pop-
lar, but it is famous for its oaks, and while it is admitted that the former trees, as
mentioned by Harris, serve as food for the larvae, my observations indisputably prove
that they feed also upon the roots of the oak. (Can. Eat., xvi, 95.)
AFFECTING THE TRUNK.
3. The oak carpenter worm.
Prionoxystus robinice (Peck).
Order Lepidoptera; Family Cossid^e.
Boring large holes and galleries in the trunk ; a large, livid, reddish caterpillar,
nearly three inches long, greenish beneath, and the head shining black ; the body
somewhat flattened, and with scattered long, fine hairs. The chrysalis also in the
burrow, and transforming to a large, thick-bodied moth in June and July.
In different parts of New England, from Maine to Rhode Island, and
southward to Texas, oak lumber and cord- wood is commonly seen to be
often honeycombed by the large black burrows of this common and
destructive borer. It is the most directly injurious of all the insects
preying on this noble tree, since it sinks its tunnels deep in towards the
heart of the tree in the living wood, and is a difficult insect to discover
until after the injury is done. It may be found in the autumn and
winter months, of different sizes, showing that at least there is an
interval of one year between the smaller and larger sizes, and that
consequently the moth is two, and probably three years in attaining
maturity.
Fig. 14.— Larva and pupa of female, and male imago of Oak Carpenter Worm— all natural size.
After Riley.
The female moth, without doubt, lays her eggs in the cracks and
interstices of the bark of the oak or locust, in the latitude of Boston,
about the middle of July.
I have taken the larva and chrysalis from the red oak in Maine, and
the insect occurs westward to the Mississippi Valley and southward to
Bosque County, central Texas. At Houston, Tex., I have found a dozen
54 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
or more of the cast chrysalid skins projecting from the stumps of the pin
oak ; one papa was alive early in April. It is said by Fitch to be more
common in the Southern and Southwestern States than in the Northern.
It is also an inhabitant of California, and may be found to occur in
nearly all the United States wherever the black, red, and white oak or
locust trees grow. The habits and metamorphoses of the moth were
first discovered by Peck,* who bred it from caterpillars found in the
locust, but Harris afterward discovered that it u perforates the trunks
of the red oak." Bailey states that it also feeds on the willow. (Bull.
No. 3, Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Ag., p. 54).
Riley states that the male caterpillar is only half as large as the
female. He adds that with her extensile ovipositor the moth deposits
her eggs in the deep notches and dark bottoms of crevices. uThe
young worms which hatch from them are dark brown with large heads ;
they are active and commence spinning as soon as they are born n
(Amer. Ent., II, 127). He finds it more partial in the West to the
locust than to the oak.
The following account of its habits and transformations is copied from
Fitch :
Of all the wood-boring insects in onr land this is by far the most pernicious, wound-
ing the trees the most cruelly. The statelies't oaks in our forests are ruined, probably
in every instance where one of these borers obtains a lodgment in their trunks. It
perforates a hole the size of a half-inch auger, or large enough to admit the little
finger, and requiring three or four years for the bark to close together over it. This
hole running inward to the heart of the tree, and admitting the water thereto from
every shower that passes, causes a decay in the wood to commence, and the tree never
regains its previous soundness. t
This is also a most prolific iusect. The abdomen of the female is so filled and dis-
tended with eggs that it becomes unwieldy and inert, falling from side to side as its
position is shifted. A specimen which I once obtained extruded upwards of three
hundred eggs within a few hours after its capture, its abdomen becoming diminished
hereby to nearly half its previous bulk ; and in the analogous European species more
than a thousand eggs have been found on dissection. It hence appears that a single
one of these insects is capable of ruining a whole forest of oak trees. This calamity,
however, is prevented, probably by most of the eggs being destroyed, either by birds
or by other insects, for these borers are by no means so common in our trees as the
fecundity of their parents would lead us to expect.
Our moth comes abroad, as already stated, in June and the forepart of July. It dies
only in the night time, remaining at rest during the day, clinging to the trunks of
trees, its gray color being so similar to that of the bark that it usually escapes notice.
In repose its wings are held together in the shape of a roof, covering the hind body.
From observing her motions in confinement, I think the female does not insert her
eggs into the bark, but mepely drops them into the cracks and crevices upon its outer
surface. They are coated with a glutinous matter which immediately dries and
hardens on exposure to the air, whereby they adhere to the spot where they touch ;
and if the short two-jointed ovipositor be not fully exserted as the egg is p
* Mass. Agr. Report and Journal, Vol. v, p. 67, with a plate, 1318.
t We have observed that the old burrows are lined by a dark layer, consisting of a
mealy debris about as thick as pasteboard ; this detritus is probably'composed of the
castings of the larva, which form a paste that in drying strongly adheres to the sides
of the gallery.— A. S. P.
OAK-BORERS. 55
through it, so as to carry the egg beyond the hair-like scales with which the body is
clothed, some of these touching adhere to it, their attachment to the body being so
slight.
The eggs are of a broad oval form, and about half the size of a grain of wheat, be-
ing the tenth of an inch in length and three-fourths as thick, of a dirty whitish color
with one of the ends black. When highly magnified their surface is seen to be retic-
ulated or occupied by numerous slightly impressed dots arranged in rows like the
meshes in a net. From the fact that several worms of the same size are sometimes
met with in a single tree, indicating them all to be the progeny of one parent, it ap-
pears that the female drops a number of eggs upon each tree that she visits, and prob-
ably disposes of her whole supply upon a very few trees. The size of the eggs doubt-
less renders them a favorite article of food to some of our smaller birds. And a bird
in discovering some of these eggs will be incited thereby to search for others in the
same vicinity, which search being successful, will be perseveringly continued so long
as an egg can be found upon that or any of the adjacent trees. Thus it may be that
of the whole stock of eggs which a female deposits, scarcely one escapes being picked
up and devoured. This appears the most probable cause of so few of these worms
being met with, although the females are so prolific.
The worm on hatching from the egg sinks itself inward and feeds at first on the soft
inner bark, till its jaws acquiring more strength it penetrates to the harder sap-wood
and finally resorts to the solid heart-wood, residing mostly in and around the center
of the trunk, boring the wood here usually in a longitudinal direction, and moving
backwards and forth in its burrow, enlarging it by gnawing its walls as it increases
in size, whereby the excavation comes to present nearly the same diameter through
its whole length. In an oak in which I met with two worms fully grown and several
others but half grown, the whole of the central part of the trunk had been exten-
sively mined by preceding generations of this insect and was in a state of incipient
decay ; and I thus had an opportunity to notice the fact that none of the worms were
lying in the decaying wood, all being outside of this, where the wood was still sound.
Hence it is evident that it is living healthy trees which this insect prefers, and not
those which are sickly and decaying, which latter are preferred by the European
Cossus, some authors say, though perhaps their observations have not been exact upon
this point, for in the instance here alluded to it would have been said on a first glance
that these worms preferred decaying wood, since the diseased heart of the tree was
•everywhere traversed with their burrows, and the sound wood showed few of them;
and thus no doubt in many other cases we mistake the cause for the effect, and on
seeing semi-putrid wood filled with worm-holes, we suppose the worms have preferred
wood of this character, when in truth it is these holes which have caused the decay
of the wood.
These worms are probably three years in obtaining their growth. They cast off
their skin several times, and after the last of these moltings their color becomes
different from what it has previously been.
The larva previous to the last change of its skin is of a rose-red or a pale cherry-
red color, often with a faint yellowish stripe along the middle of its back, on all
except the three anterior rings. It is of a cylindrical form, slightly broadest ante-
riorly and a little flattened beneath. It is divided by transverse constrictions resem-
bling broad shallow grooves into twelve rings, which are twice as broad as long. On
each of these rings are a few pimples of a deep purple color, regularly placed, each
giving out a pale-brown bristle. Four of these pimples are on the back, placed at the
angles of an imaginary square or a trapezoid having its hind side the longest, the two
hinder pimples being larger. Small white dots confluent into broken lines may also
be perceived, forming a transverse square in which the two anterior pimples are
inclosed, and other dots less regularly placed surrounding the two hind pimples
except upon their hind side. Above the breathing pores on each side is also a large
pimple, which, upon the four rings bearing the prolegs, has a white dot in its lower
edge, which dot does not appear in the corresponding pimples of the other rings. A
56 FIF1H REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
minute pimple is also seen forward of the upper end of each breathing pore, below
which all the underside of the worm ia greenish white. The breathing porea are oral
and light yellow, with ■ rusty brown oval spot in their center and a dark purple ring
around their outer edge. Below them the skin bulges out, forming a longitudinal
ridge, or rather two parallel ridges divided by a deep intervening furrow. Upon the
upper one of these ridges near the middle of each ring is a round cherry-red spot in
which are fcwo small pimples, and on tin? lower ridge is a single one, placed farther
back, whilst four others equally minute maybe seen farther down and around the
anterior base of tin- prologs. The second and third rings are shorter, each with four-
teen pimples of different sizes, the larger ones forming a single transverse row. The
tirst ring or neck is polished and of a dark tawny brown color on its upper side, with
a white line in its middle disappearing anteriorly in a black t wo-lobed cloud. Th©
head is but half as broad as the body, ami is of a shining black color, tinged more or
less with chestnut brown in its middle, with scattered punctures from which arise line
hairs. The antennte are chestnut brown, conical and three-jointed, the last joint
minute, with a bristle beside it given out from the apex of the second joint. The
palpi are similar, with two small processes from the summit of their second joint,
the outer one of which ends in a minute fourth joint. Of the eight pairs of legs, the
three anterior are conical and end in a single chestnut-colored claw. The others are
short, thick, and retractile, with their soles surrounded by a blackish fringe-like ring
composed of a multitude of minute hooks, the last pair, however, having these hooks
only around the anterior and outer half of their soles. Placed in a glass or tin vessel,
this worm is perfectly helpless, being unable to cling with these hooks to a hard
smooth surface.
With the last change of its skin it loses its bright-red color and is then white,
tinged with green at the sutures, and with a pale-green stripe along the middle of its
back, which disappears at the sutures. The pimples are of a pale tawny yellow color
with black centers. The head is light tawny yellow varied in its middle with green-
ish white, its anterior edge blackish and the jaws deep black.*
As the moth into which this worm changes possesses no jaws or other implements
by which it is possible for it to perforate the wood, it is necessary for the worm to pre-
pare a way for its future escape from the tree ; and the provisions which it makes for
this end are truly interesting, indicating that the worm has a clear perception of what
its future condition and requirements will be, both in its pupa and its perfect state.
This is the more surprising when we recur to the fact that since its infancy this crea-
ture has been lying deeply bedded in the interior of the tree, the only act of its life
having been to crawl lazily around in its cell and gnaw the wood there when impelled
by hunger. How does it now come to do anything different from what it has been
doing for months and years before ? But, having got its growth and the time draw-
ing near to have it change into a pupa or chrysalis, we see it engaging in a new work.
It now bores a passage from the upper end of its cell outward through the wood and
bark till only a thin scale of the brittle dead outer bark remains. It is usually at the
bottom of one of the large cracks or furrows in the hark that this passage ends,
* Received full grown larvas from F. G. Mygatt, Richmond, 111., February 26, 1868,
found boring in a large black-oak tree, formiug their cocoons soon after the receipt.
The male larvae have generally broken bands of reddish brown across the middle of
each segment. The female larvae) are perfectly fulvous or of the color of ordinary
yellow butter; subcylindrical ; thoracic segments broadest, tapering thence to
anus. Segment 1 flatter than the rest; head polished brown and fulvous; pilifer-
ous spots variable in size, being more distinct when young, and often connected by
transverse bands of brown; stigmata brown, large, and distinct; feet and legs
same as venter, the former with brown extremities, the latter fringed with brown ;
anal segment more glaucous than the rest. Others were received from J. M. Shaffer,
January, 1870, found boring in black locust, and were exactly like the oak-feeding
specimens. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
OAK-BORERS. 57
whereby the hole inside is less liable to be discovered by birds. The worm then dili-
gently lines the walls of this hole with silken threads interspersed with its chips and
forming a rough surface resembling felt, as it withdraws itself backwards for a dis-
tance of about three inches, thus placing itself beyond the reach of any bird or other
enemy outside of the tree, should its retreat be discovered ; and it here incloses itself
in a cocoon which it spins of silk, of a long oval form, having the end towards the
outer opening much thinner and its threads more loosely woven. In this cocoon it
throws off its larva skin and then appears in its nymph or pupa form.
The pupa is an inch and three-quarters long and half an inch thick, of a dull chest-
nut color, the rings of its abdomen paler, and on the back near the anterior edge of
each ring is a row of angular teeth, resembling those of a saw, of a dark brown color
and all of them inclining backward, these rows of teeth extending downwards upon
each side below the breathing pores or about two-thirds of the distance around the
body. On the middle of each ring is also a much shorter row of little tubercular points.
Finally, upon the under side of the last segment are about four stouter conical teeth,
the tips of which are drawn out into sharp points which are curved forward, so that
when this last segment, which is tapering and smaller than the others, is bent down-
wards these curved points will catch and hold the body from moving forward.
The pupa lies perfectly dormant in its cocoon probably a fortnight or longer. It
then awakes from its slumbers and begins to writhe and bend itself from side to side.
By this motion the rows of little teeth upon the rings of its abdomen, which incline
backward as above described, catch in the threads of the cocoon, first upon one side
and then upon the other, and thus move the body forward, whereby its head presses
upon the loosely woven end of the cocoon, more and more firmly, until it forces its
way through it, and the pupa works itself forward out of its cocoon. And the same
writhing motion being continued, the teeth now catch in the threads with which the
sides of the hole are lined, and thus, though destitute of feet, the pupa moves itself
along till it reaches and breaks through the thin scale of bark which hitherto has
closed the mouth of its burrow, and pushes itself onward till about three-fourths of its
length protrude from the tree, when by curving the tip of its body downward the
four little hooks thereon catch in some of the threads and hold it from advancing
further and falling to the ground. By so much motion of the pupa the connections
of the inclosed insect with its shell become sundered and the sutures of the shell are
probably cracked open, so that the moth readily presses them apart and crawls out
therefrom, leaving the empty and now lifeless shell projecting out from the mouth of
the hole, with a small mass of worm-dust surrounding it.
The male moth is of a gray color from white scales intermixed with black ones. The
head is furnished upon the crown, or vertex, with longer or hair-like scales. The
antennae are tapering and many-jointed, their basal joint thickest and covered with
black and gray scales, the remaining joints being naked, shining, coal-black, each
joint bearing two branches on its front side, forming two rows of coarse teeth like
those of a comb, the teeth being six or more times as long as thick, and all of the same
length except at the base and tip, where they become shorter, all of them ciliated with
fine hairs. The feelers are appressed to the face and reach as high as to the middle
of the eyes, and are cylindric, clothed with short appressed scales, the separation of
the terminal joint being slightly perceptible. The thorax has the shoulder-covers
black, forming a stripe of this color along each side, which anteriorly curves down-
wards and is continued backward upon the upper side of the breast. Its base is
clothed with larger scales, forming tufts upon each side. The abdomen is conic and
equals the tips of the wings in its length, and is but slightly covered with scales except
along each side, where they form a broad stripe, the under side being ertirely de-
nuded; it is black and shining, with the sutures dull yellowish. At its tip are three
appendages, longer than the last rings of the abdomen. The two lower ones are broad,
thick, flattened processes of a dull brownish yellow color, with their tips rounded and
slightly bent inwards towards each other. The upper one is a slender, black, shining
hook or claw of the same length, its tip sharp-pointed and curved downward. Above
58 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
tiles** appendages and hiding them from view is a brush of black hairs, forming a con-
ical tuft at th«- end of tin- abdomen, blunt at its apex. The h-tjs are more or less
denuded of stales, blaok ind shining, with the hind shanks thicker toward their tips
and with two pairs of spurs, the forward shanks having only a tingle spine, which is
placed on t he middle of their inner sides, the same as in ot her mot hs : and the feet are
oomprested and five-jointed, with the basal joint longest and the following ones suc-
!y shorter. The /wi toimfi are blaok, with groups of whitish scales forming
gray -pots of clouds which are netted with black lines, varying greatly in different
individuals. Often a transverse gray spot is situated toward- the base and another
on the anal angle, the outer and hind margins being gray alternated with black. The
hind wiiH/.i are black, with their posterior half of a rich marigold yellow color bordered
with a black line upon the hind margin, the yellow color being irregularly notched
on its anterior 3ide and narrowed to the inner angle, and not extended to tbe outer
angle, the two outer cells being black. Tbe outer or anterior margin, except at its
base and tip, is usually gray alternated with transverse black streaks and blotches,
and iuside of this is a large ash-gray spot occupying the outer anterior part of the
disk. The under sides of both wings are similar to their upper surface.
The ft male would not be supposed to pertain to the same species with the male, her
size is so much larger, her colors so much paler gray, and her hind wings being wholly
destitute of the bright yellow coloring which forms so conspicuous a mark in the
other sex. The branches of her antenme are also shorter, being but about four times
as long as thick. The ground color of her fore wings is gray, variously netted with
black lines dividing the gray in places into small roundish spots and into rings hav-
ing black centers. The black color usually forms a broad irregular band across the
middle of the wings parallel with the hind margin, and another between thisand the
hind edge, chiefly on the outer half of the wing, the hind edge and fringe being whitish
alternated with black spots placed on the tips of the veins. The hind wings are dusky
gray and towards their bases blackish, their posterior half being freely transparent
and faintly netted with darker lines. The body is densely coated with gray scales,
its under side hoary white; and the legs are gray, with black bands on the shanks,
and black feet, with gray rings at their articulations.
Remedies. — We have but a single suggestion to make upon the subject of remedies
against this truly formidable though fortunately rare enemy. It is probable that soft
soap applied the fore part of June to the bodies of trees will be equally efficacious
against this and other borers as it is against that of the apple tree. This remedy may
well be resorted to, to protect the locusts and oaks which we value as ornamental
trees; and scarce and valuable as timber is becoming in all the older settled sections
of our country, I doubt not it will be found to be good economy to bestow similar
attention upon the more valuable trees standing in our forests.
It should also be observed that whenever a hole made by a borer is discovered in
the trunk of a tree, it should be immediately closed by inserting a plug therein, to
exclude the wet which will otherwise be admitted hereby to the interior of the tree
and produce a decay of the surrounding wood. — (Fitch's Fifth Report, pp. 4-10.)
4. The lesser oak carpenter worm.
Prionoxystus qnerciperda (Fitch).
Order Lepidoptera ; Family Cossid.e.
(PI. ii, Figs. 4, 5.)
Auother and rather smaller Cossid, but belonging to a closely allied
species, was found by Mr. J. A. Liutuer resting upon the trunk of au
oak tree in Schoharie, X. Y. It probably ranges all over tbe Eastern
States and Mississippi Valley, since a species, either this or closely allied,
is reported to us by Mr. G. W. Belfrage to inhabit central Texas. Dr.
OAK-BORERS. 59
Fitch thinks it probable that it bores into the oak. He describes it as
a moth smaller in size thau P. robinicc, with thin and slight transparent
wings, which are crossed by numerous black lines, the outer margin only
of the forward pair being opaque and of a gray color ; the hind wings
of the male are colorless, with the inner margin broadly blackish and
the hind edge coal-black.
Mr. Lintuer has found the lar vTa burrowing in the black oak. The moth
appeared April 29th. The male is about half as large as the female.
"This species is smaller than rebinice, the female expanding 46mm or
47mm, the male about 10mm less. The male hind wings seem translucent,
but on holding them obliquely in certain lights the yellow tint may be
seen plainly. This smaller and rarer species occurs also in Texas. It
is freer from reticulations and more transparent than any other form."
(Bailey, Bull. No. 3, Div. Ent., Dept. Ag., 55.)
Larva. — Length an inch and a half. Pale green, with a darker green dorsal stripe,
bordered faintly with yellow. Head flat, sub triangular, dark brown clouded with
black. First segment with two brown spots extending across it, narrowed laterally,
and of nearly the length of the segment medially, where they unite to inclose on the
dorsal line an elongate-elliptical green spot. The anterior segments are flattened,
and broader than the following, which gradually diminish in breadth toward the
posterior end. The segments are marked dorsally with four rose-colored elevated
points, the trapezoidal spots of Guenee; on the 10th and 11th segments they form a
quare. A similar spot is present above each stigma, a smaller one below, and an-
other in front — each of these bearing a short brown hair. The stigmata are oval,
orange-colored, centered with dark brown. The legs are tipped with chestnut brown,
and the prologs armed with brown plantae. — (Lintner, Ent. Contributions, iv, 135.)
5. Cossula magnlfica Bailey.
(PI. ii, figs. 1-3.)
An account of this fine moth and its transformations is published in
Papilio (ii, 93) by Dr. J. S. Bailey. The larvae were found by Mr.
Koebele boring in species of oak and hickory near Tallahassee, Fla.
A single live-oak was observed standing in an open field containing
many larvae, their debris, resembling saw-dust, being distributed over
the ground around the roots of the tree more than six inches in depth.
" At the period of pupation the larvae, as is customary with the Cossidae,
takes its position near the surface of the bark. The tunneling is usu-
ally conducted near the surface, from one-quarter to one inch beneath
the bark. After the imagines emerge their pupa cases are left protrud-
ing through the bark."
Pupa. — The long testaceous pupa-case is provided with an irregular series of five
tuberculations on each side of the anus. (Bailey.)
Moth. — Size small ; male antennae bipectinate to the tips, the inner series one-third
the length of the outer pectinations; hind tibiae pilose ; wings broad, the front pair
rounded at the apices, costa with dark dots; fuscous gray, smooth, with indistinct
fragmentary reticulations. A light brown patch covers the outer edge ; before the
'patch is a light gray subterminal shade. Hind wings blackish brown ; front yellow-
ish; thorax light gray ; abdomen dark gray; expanse of wings, 36mm. (1.44 inches).
<Bailey.)
(JO FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
6. Cossus reticulatti8 Lintner.
This moth was described by Mr. J. A. Lintner, from a single female
in the collection of Mr. tfeumogen, collected in Texas, on the Rio Grande.
Mrs. Slosson has observed it riddling live oaks in Florida.
Allied to ( . robinia in shape of wings and markings, having the stronger scales and
reticulated ornamentation of that species, in which it differs from the minute and
■parse scales and transverse lines of C. quereiperdm and C. oenteren»i$.
Primaries reticulated with black on a pale ash ground, the wings lighter than in C.
robiititt, from the absence of the conspicuous intranervular black spots and streaks
which characterise that species, and are well represented in fig. 205, p. 413, of Harris'
liueott Injurious to Wyttation. In this species, only between the internal, submedian
and 1st median venule (veins la, 16, and 2), at the outer third of the wings, do the
reticulations coalesce so as almost to form spots. In the terminal and subterminal por-
tions of the wing, the small ash spots (sometimes ocellated with a black dot or line)
for the greater part rest upon the veins; between 2 and 5, there are other spots in-
termediate to these venular ones; elsewhere, with a few exceptions, the spots are
venular, forming two intranervular rows. The costal region is pale ash, traversed by
black lines rather than reticulated. The median portion of the wing is imperfectly
reticulated. The terminal margin and the unicolorous fringe are conspicuously
marked with a black spot on each vein.
Secondaries thinly clothed with fuscous hairs, permitting the reticulations of the
lower surface to be seen in transparency, except between the margin and costal nerve,
where it is seated in pale ash, as the primaries. Terminal margin and the pale fringe,
black spotted as the primaries. — (Lintner, Ent. Contributions, iv, 130, 1878.)
7. The toothed- legged buprestis.
Chrysobothris dentipes Germar.
Order Coleoptera: Family Buprestid,e.
Fig. 15. — Chrysobothris dentipes: a, head, front view; 6, last male ventral segment: c, last female
ventral segment; d, first leg of male. After Horn. B. The same, after Smith.
Eating a slender, winding, broad, shallow burrow between the bark and sap-wood
of newly felled oak trees; a white, footless grub, with the fore part of the body enor-
mously large, circular, and flattened, inclosing the small head in front.
This singularly shaped borer is often found under the bark of newly
felled oaks, or those which have been prostrate for a longer time. We
have found it in its mine under the bark of the red oak at Salem, Mass.,
early in May, in company with more numerous individuals of Magdalis
olyra.
OAK-BORERS. 6 1
It will be seen by the form of this singular borer that it is adapted for
a life under or next to the bark of diseased trees, as it is quite unfitted,
by reason of the enormously swollen front rings of the body, for boring
very far into the living fresh wood, as is the case with the oak-boring cat-
erpillar of Prionoxystus robinice, or the oak primer (Maphidion villosum).
With its short, powerful jaws it can eat its way on either side in front
of it, after hatching from the egg, which is probably laid by the parent
beetle in some crack in the bark. Its head is rather small and partly
sunken within the segment next behind the head. This segment, des-
tined to be the prothorax of the beetle, is remarkably broad, nearly
three times as much so as the hinder segments, and fully as broad again
as it is long, while the surface above is flat and more or less rough or
pitted in the middle. With this unusual form it can eat its way in a
serpentine course under the bark, deriving its nourishment from the
sap-wood next to the bark. Owing to the form of its body in front,
the burrow is shallow and broad, in transverse outline oval cylindrical.
The body of this as well as most other borers is provided with fine,
delicate, scattered hairs, projecting on each side of each segment.
Judging by analogy, these hairs are probably provided each with a fine
nerve (though this remains to be proved), and probably are endowed
with a delicate sense of touch, useful to the insect as it moves to and
fro in its gallery. The Buprestid larvae are blind, without simple eyes,
since living as they do in total darkness and never coming to the light
they do not need even the simple eyes present in many other larvae,
and which are probably chiefly of use in enabling the insect tp distin-
tinguish light from darkness.
The larvae of the Buprestidce and the breeding habits of the beetles
have not as yet been carefully studied in America, and for any exact
knowledge we have to go to French and German authors.
According to Perris, the Buprestids couple in the usual manner, the
male mounting ui>on the back of the female, the act of copulation not
being of long duration.
The form of the eggs and their size in our species are unknown, or
have not been stated in print. It is most probable that the female lays
them in the bottom of cracks in the bark, or under the partly loosened
bark at least, where the larva upon hatching may find itself next to or im-
mediately in contact with the bast or the sap-wood, which probably forms
the greater part of its food, though Ratzeburg has found that the " frass"
or excrement is colored by the bark, which indicates that the larvae feed
both on the bast and bark. As to the number of eggs laid by the female
we have no information. The eggs are deposited in fissures or cracks
by means of the extensile end of the body. As Westwood states, "The
abdomen appears to be composed of only five segments ; the remainder
are, however, internal, and constitute in the female a retractile, corneous,
conical plate, employed for depositing the eggs in the chinks of the bark
of trees within which the larvae feed." Perris, however, says that "the
62 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
eggs are deposited in the interior of the bark, the outer layers of which
the ovipositor of the female penetrates."
It has been claimed by Ratzeburg and also by Reifsig* that the
European larva? of Buprestis and the numerous allied genera, such as
Chrwsobothris, Chalcophora, etc., attain their full size in two years ; but
according to Perris the time required for their transformations is but a
single year, as may be seen by the extracts from his work further on.
As regards the habits of the larvae we have no direct observations on
the young of this family in this country, though much needed in con-
nection with the use of remedial measures.
Mr. E. Perris, in his invaluable work, entitled " Insectesdu Pin mari*
time," says of the larva of the European Ancylocheira flavomaculata :
The larva of the A. flavomaculata lives in the wood of old pines recently dead, and
especially in the larger branches and the large twigs (pieux). It is, indeed, under these
two last conditions that they oftenest occur. It does not stop in the bark, because it
is in the interior of the bark that the female lays its eggs, by means of its oviduct,
and after its birth it plunges into the wood to the depth of about a centimeter [nearly
two-fifths of an inch]. It follows the longitudinal fibers of the sap-wood while mak-
ing a gallery elliptical in section, which it leaves behind it completely filled and packed
with excrement and detritus. When the time of its metamorphosis approaches it
goes towards the surface of the sap-wood, perforates it to the bark, sometimes makes
a small incision into the latter, stops up the gallery with a plug made entirely of
small, compacted chips ; then it retires backward a little into a cell scooped out in
the wood, and this is where it transforms into a pupa.
The following extract from Perris refers to the habits of Chrysobothru
solieri, which also lives in the maritime pine in France. The habits of
our G. dentipes of the oak, and G. femorata of the oak and different fruit
trees, and G. harrisii of the white pine are probably quite similar.
According to my observations the Chrysobothris only lays its eggs on the trunks of
pines from five to fifteen centimeters in diameter at the base, and on the branches of
old trees. I have never found it on an old trunk, and when a large prostrate pine is
deprived of its branches it is on them that it lives, and not on the trunk. I have
already said that the larva lives at first under the bark; it there busies itself, some-
times attacking very plainly the sap-wood, sometimes boring a sinuous gallery, which
it leaves behind it rilled with white chips and excrements of a brownish red; but at
the approach of winter it burrows into the wood, where it gouges out a gallery ellip-
tical iu section, the dimensions of which increase as its body grows larger. When
the moment of transformation has arrived it returns into its gallery, and undergoes
its metamorphosis sometimes more than two centimeters from the surface, because I
have found some pupa? and perfect insects at this depth.
Perris calls attention to the fact that though the Buprestid beetles
stand quite high in the Coleopterous series, yet their larva1 have an
organization inferior to that of all other Coleopterous larvae known.
Thus, they have neither feet nor eyes, and there are no other Coleopte-
rous larva? which, as iu the Buprestids, have very rudimentary labial
palpi, and which consist of less than two joints.
•Ratzeburg's Die Waldverderbuiss, etc., ii, p. 360.
OAK-BORERS. 63
The burrows of the Buprestid larvae may nearly always be distin-
guished, says Perris, by their tortuous course, aud by the fact that the
excrement and detritus, instead of being accumulated in the gallery
without order, are there disposed in small layers forming concentric arcs,
whose opening is turned away from the larvae, and of a regularity not
less remarkable than characteristic.
This symmetrical arrangement has as its primary cause the dimensions of the gal-
lery, which are out of proportion with the abdomen of the larva. The latter, because
of the size of the anterior portion of its body, is obliged to give to its gallery a size
sufficient for the posterior part to execute freely movements of advance and retreat,
which have as their natural result the disposition en arc of the rejected material be-
hind. On the other hand, the larva, in consequence of the dimensions of its gallery,
in order to have points of support is obliged to bend the posterior part of the body
on itself. It is, indeed, ordinarily found in this attitude, which allows it to press
against the walls, so as to push itself ahead ; but in this condition the abdomen forms
an arc which, propping itself from the convex side on the detritus, causes the concav-
ity of the successive beds. * * *
We have seen that some Buprestid larvae undergo their metamorphoses in the inte-
rior of the bark, others in the thickness of the wood. It is, moreover, in this that the
wisdom of nature is revealed, for it is not capriciously and without motive that things
happen as I have described. We know, indeed, that if those larvae which do not at-
tack the young trees, as those of Ancylocheira 8-guttata, of Chysobothris solieri, and of
Anthaxia morio, and of several species of Agrilus, should live under the bark they
would not be sufficiently protected, because the bark is not thick enough and would
easily separate from the wood. When, however, on the contrary, they live under the
hard and thick bark of old trees, as Melanophila tarda, Chrysobothris affinis, Agrilus
biguttatus, and 4-guttatus, and others, they do not hesitate to take refuge in the bark,
because they are there well sheltered, and because they save the beetle from making
a long and difficult journey in order to make its exit. * * *
What is the duration of the life of the larvae of the Buprestidwl Ratzeburg is
inclined to believe that it is two years. M. Levaillaut, whose observations are repro-
duced by M. Lucas in his notice of Chalcophora, is also disposed to think that those
of this insect pass two years in the wood. The reason which he gives, and which is
drawn from the size of the larvae found from December to August, does not seem to
me conclusive, because the female of Chalcophora is capable of laying eggs during
almost the entire year. As to M. Ratzeburg, he has not, apparently, made careful
observations in this respect.
As to myself, numerous facts authorize me to say that, in general, these larvae only'
live one year. For example, some pines, poplars, and willows which I have cut down
in the springtime, with the design of obtaining Buprestids, have afforded me often
very numerous perfect insects in May and June of the year following.
Some logs of oak, cut in January, 1847, and which lay during a whole year in the
open air, furnished me in June and July, 1848, more than three hundred Chrysobothris
affinis. The trunks of some large, very rigorous pines, cut down at the beginning of
one year, contained pupae of Ancylocheira in the following May. Finally, as regards
all the species that I have here described, and for a number of others, I have, from
my own experience, the certainty that the larvae live only one year.
I admit that, without doubt, among these larvae there are some which, not placed in
conditions sufficiently favorable to complete during this period all the phases of their
existence, from one cause or another, may be retarded some months, for a year even.
I moreover accept the more willingly this fact, because I have had good occasions for
^ observing this in larvae which I have raised in my cabinet ; but this is the exception,,
and the rule is that a single year suffices, in our country, for the development of the
larvae of the Buprestidae.
64 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The Buprestids in the perfect state love the daylight and sunshine. Before storms,
whet] tht; air iscalm ami heavy and thesun is hot, th»-y has.- an extraordinary activity;
and when t In* weather gradually becomes cloudy and the wind rises they disappear
from our .sight. We know bat little as to the nature of their food. Chalcophora ma-
Hana devours the young shoots of pines, Antkaxia morio and ohevrierii eat, the first
the petals of buttercups, the second those of Ct88U$ dljl»$oidet. Other Anthaxke
Also, M well as Trachys, freipient different llowers. Aphanixtivux emargimitux occurs
on rashes (joncs), and I have sometimes taken Acmaodera taniata on the flowers of
carrots. All these facts lead me to think that the BuprestidS KM phytophagous;
hut it appears thai certain species are, accidentally at least, carnivorous. This ap-
pears from a communication made by M.Leon Fairmaire to the Socidtd Entom-
ologique, in its session of January 10, 1849, relative to the aabjeot of Chrysobolhrin
iolieri.
Regarding our oak-borer (C. dentipes), Harris states that it completes
its transformations and comes out of the trees between the end of May
and the first of July. This applies to Maine and Massachusetts. In
New York, according to Dr. Fitch, the beetles are "often found bask-
ing in the sunshine on the bark of the trees in June and July."
The beetle. — This insect is so named from the little tooth on the under side of the
thick forelegs. It is oblong, oval, and flattened, of a bronzed brownish or purplish-
black color above, copper- colored beneath, and rough-like shagreen, with numerous
punctures; the thorax is not so wide as the hinder part of the body ; its hinder mar-
gin is hollowed on both sides to receive the rounded base of each wing-cover, and
there are two smooth elevated lines on the middle ; on each wing-cover there are
three irregular, smooth, elevated lines, which are divided and interrupted by large,
thickly punctured, impressed spots, two of which are oblique: the tips are rounded.
Length from £ to ^ of an inch. (Harris.)
7. The flat-headed borer.
Chrysobothrisfemorata Fabricius.
Order Coleoptera; Family Buprestid^e.
Boring under the bark and in the sap-wood of the white oak, and in the Gulf States,
the pin oak ; a pale-yellow flat-headed grub, closely resembling the preceding species.
This pernicious borer of the apple tree, as stated both by Harris and
Fitch, originally infested the white oak, but since the settlement of the
country has abounded in the apple and
sometimes in the peach, but may still be
found to injure the white oak. Riley has
also found it in the soft maple and weep-
ing willow. Riley has reared this beetle
from the oak, apple, mountain ash, box
elder, peach, and pear, and has found the
larva in the mountain ash, linden, beech,
cherry, and peach (7th Rt. Ins. Mo., 72).
Fig. 18 will fairly represent the "mine"
or gallery made under the bark of a stump
of the white oak, as it occurred at Prov-
idence, R. I. The worm soon after hatch-
ing made the mine as is seen on the right of
Fir,
16.— Chryaobothria femorata
a. bead ; b, last ventral m
pnent'of
male; e, last ventral segment of
female; '/. tiist leg oi male.—
Alter Horn.
OAK-BORERS.
65
the figure, where after a sinuous course it opens into a broad, shallow
cell, and then after pursuing an irregular direction dilates on the left
into a broad, shallow cell two-thirds of an inch wide ; the oval, black
spot in the upper corner representing the hole made by the larva for
the exit of the beetle. In this hole the beetle was found. The large
cell is for the repose of the pupa.
At Houston, Tex., I found the larva and pupa in abundance, April
2, 1881, under the bark of large pin oak stumps and of dead trees.
The burrows were like those represented in Fig. 18, being irregular
winding, shallow burrows, not nearly so definite in outline as those
made by longicorn borers. The mine is about
| inch wide, and terminates in a broad, irreg-
ular, oval cell 1J inches long and J to § inch
wide. In this cell the pupa spends the winter
and early spring. One end of this cell lies
toward the outer side of the bark so that even
if there is not a clearly defined oval opening,
as in Fig. 18, the beetle on emerging from the
pupa state can with little difficulty extricate
itself from its cell and make its way out of doors
by pushing aside a thin barrier of bark. In
the case of one in the pin oak there was a Fl^. n -Transformation of
quite irregular, oval cell built up by the larva S^^J.f^J^SS
between the wood and the bark, the partition mento^ttii * A&rRiiSy!
consisting of a composition of firm bark dust,
thus forming a rude cocoon. The insect occurred at Providence in
the larva, pupa, and beetle states May 20, though the larvae were the
most abundant.
Harris says of it from his observations in eastern Massachusetts :
Its time of appearance is from the end of May to the middle of July, during which
it may often be seen, in the middle of the day, resting upon or flying round the trunks
of white-oak trees and recently-cut timber of the same kind of wood. I have re-
peatedly taken it upon and under the bark of peach trees also. The grubs or larvae
bore into the trunks of these trees.
Mr. Ricksecker remarks that on the Pacific coast it " attacks young
fruit trees that have been scorched by the sun, but its natural food is
the oak, for I have seen dozens of them in the branches of a small live
oak that had been cut down less than an hour." (Eut. Amer., i, 97.)
The following extracts from Dr. Fitch's first report will further serve
•to characterize the habits and appearance of this formidable pest of our
most valuable forest, shade, and fruit trees. It will appear that Dr.
Fitch has been the first to discover an ichneumon parasite in the larva
of this beetle, no European Buprestid beetle being, so far as we know,
infested by internal parasites:
Another insect, which has not heretofore been noticed in our country as a borer in
the apple tree, pertains to the family Buprestidce, or the brilliant snapping beetles.
5 ENT 5
66 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Mr. P. Barry, of the Mount Hope nurseries, Rochester, has forwarded to us sections
of the body of some young apple trees, which were B80t to him from a correspondent
in Hillsborough, in southern Ohio, who states that in that vicinity the borer, which
ih contained in the specimens sent, is doing great damage to the apple trees, and that
he has had peach trees also killed by this same worm. From au examination of these
specimens, it appears that this insect is quite similar to the common apple-tree borer
in its habits. The parent insect deposits its eggs ou the bark, from which a worm
hatches, which passes through the bark and during the first periodsof its life consumes
the soft sap-wood immediately under the bark. But when the worm approaches ma-
turity and has become stronger and more robust, it gnaws into the more solid heart-
wood, forming a flatfish, and not a cylindrical hole such as is formed by most other
bonis, the bniTOW which it excavates being twice as: broad as it is high, the height
measuring t e tenth of an inch or slightly over. It is the latter part of summer when
these worms thus sink themselves into the solid heart- wood of the tree, their burrow
extending upwards from the spot under the bark where they had previously dwelt.
On laying open one of these burrows I find it is more than an inch in length, and all
its lower part is tilled and blocked up with the fine sawdust-like castings of the worm.
Thus, when the worm is destined to lay torpid and inactive during the long months
of winter, it has the forethought, so to speak, to place itself in a safe and secure re-
treat, withiu the solid wood of the tree, with the hole leading to its cell plugged up
so as effectually to prevent any enemy from gaining admission to it.
Fig. 18.— Mine or burrow made by the apnle flat-headed buret (C. femorata) in the white oak, nat.
size. — Packard del.
Still, this worm is not able to secure itself entirely from those parasitic insects
which are the destroyers of so many other species of its race, and which, as is cur-
rently remarked, appear to have been created for the express purpose of preying
upon those species, in order to prevent their becoming excessively multiplied. We
should expect that this and other borers, lying as they do beneath the bark or
within the wood of trees, were so securely shielded that it would be impossible
for any insect enemy to discover and gain access to them, to molest or destroy
them. But among the specimens sent me by Mr. Barry is one where the worm has
been entirely devoured, nothing but its shriveled skin remaining, within and upon
OAK-BORERS. 67
which are several minute maggots or footless little grubs, soft, dull white, shining, of
a long egg shaped form, pointed at the tip and blunt in front, their bodies divided into
segments by very fine transverse impressed lines or sutures. They are about one- tenth
of an inch long and 0.035 broad at the widest part. These are evidently the larvae
of some small Hymenopterous or bee-like insect, pertaining, there can be little doubt,
to the family Chalcididse, the female of which has the instinct to discover these
borers, probably in the earlier periods of their life when they are lying directly be-
neath the bark, and piercing through the bark with her ovipositor, and puncturing
the skin of the borer, drops her eggs therein, which subsequently hatch and subsist
upon the borer, eventually destroying it. These minute larvae were forwarded to me
under the supposition that they were injurious to the apple tree, whereas, by destroy-
ing these pernicious borers, it is evident they must be regarded as our best friends.
This fact illustrates how important it is for us to be acquainted with our insects in
the different stages of their lives, that we may be able to discriminate friends from
foes, and know which to destroy and which to cherish. (Fitch.)
Larva.— Protborax very broad, being broader and flatter and the abdominal seg-
ments smaller in proportion than any other borer of this family known to us. Head
retracted within the prothorax. The disk finely shagreeued with raised dots. A
narrow inverted V-shaped smooth impressed line in the middle of the disk, the apex
becoming prolonged towards but finally becoming obsolete at the front edge of the
disk ; the arms of the V behind not reaching very near the posterior edge of the disk.
Beneath, is a similar roughened disk, but more regularly rounded-oval than above,
and with a single straight median swollen impressed line, which is a little over
one-half as long as the disk, but which reaches a little nearer the front than the hind
edge.
Second thoracic (mesothoracic) segment very short, considerably shorter and wider
than the third, with an oval, slightly rough, area on each side of the median line, the
similar area on the third thoracic segment being larger and united over the median
line.
The ten abdominal segments of uniform width, being a little shorter than broad,
except the small tenth segment, which is about two-thirds as wide as the ninth. A
pair of irregular, rather long patches on each abdominal segment above, and a pair
of curvilinear impressed lines beneath.
One pair of mesothoracic and eight pairs of abdominal spiracles.
Head a 'little narrower than the thoracic disk. Clypeus corneous, square in front-
very short and broad. Labrum square, a little longer than wide, front edge mode*
rately rounded, densely hirsute. Antennae 3-jointed; first joint short, membranous,
second considerably narrower, third minute, rounded at tip, considerably slenderer
than second. Mandibles entirely black. Maxillary lobe short, projecting slightly be- '
yondthe edge of labium. Maxillary palpus 2-jointed, second joint not so long as the
first is wide, one-third as thick, and extending a little beyond the maxillary lobe.
Labium entire, the front edge not being excavated.
Length, 422mm ; breadth of prothoracic segment, 7mm ; length, 4mm; width of sixth
abdominal segment, 3mm.
Pupa. Body flattened, and of the general shape of the imago. The antennae seen
from above extend to a little behind the outer hinder angle of the prothorax. The
elytra reach to the middle of the fourth abdominal segment. The wiugs extend as far
as the hinder edge of the same segment. The third pair of tarsi reach to near the
middle of the sixth abdominal segment. Six pairs of abdominal spiracles. Length,
15m,n ; breadth, 7mm.
In transforming, the eyes, the front of the head, the prothorax, the femora, and
tibiae and portions of the sternum and under side of the abdominal segments turn
dark first.
The foregoing descriptions have been drawn up from specimens ob-
tained by us in Texas and in Rhode Island.
68 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The beetle. — Like other species of its family, the thick-legged Buprestis is variahle
in rise, measuring from four to five tenths of an inch in length and about two-thirds
in width. It is of a black or grei nish-black color, polished and shining, with the
■nrfmoc rongfa and uneven. The bend, and lometimee the thorax, and the depressed
portions of the elytra are of a dull coppery color. The head is sunk into the thorax
to the eyes, li densely pnnctared, and Is clothed in front with line white hairs, which
are directed downwards. Upon the middle of the top of the head is a smooth raised
black line with a narrow Impressed line through its middle, a mark which serves to
distinguish this from some of the other species which are closely related to it. The
thorax is much more broad than long, and is widest forward of the middle. Its sur-
face is covered with dense, coarsish punctures, which run into each other in a some-
what transverse direction. It is also somewhat uneven, with slight elevations and
hollows, but has not two smooth raised lines on its middle and anterior part, which
are met with in another species very similar to this, the tooth-legged snapping-
beetle (Chryaobotktii dentipes Qermta). The elytra or wing-covers present a much
more rough and unequal surface than any other part of the insect. Three smooth and
polished raised lines extend lengthwise of each wing-cover, and the intervals between
them are in places occupied by smaller raised lines, which form a kind of net-work,
and two impressed transverse spots may also be discerned, more or less distinctly,
dividing each wing-cover into three nearly equal portions. These spots reach from
the iuner one of the three raised lines nearly to the outer margin, crossing the two
other raised lines and interrupting them more or less. They are commonly of a
cupreous tinge, and densely punctured, but are smoother than the other portions of
the surface. A smaller and more deeply impressed spot may commonly be found in
the space next to the suture and forward of the anterior spot, of which it is, as it were,
a continuation. The wing-covers are rounded at their tips, so as to present a slight
notch at the suture when they are closed, and the outer margin towards the tip has
several very minute projecting teeth. When the wing-covers are parted the back
is discovered to be of a brilliant bluish-green color and thickly punctured, with a
row of large impressed spots along the middle, one on each segment, and half way
between these and the outer margin is another row of smaller impressed dots, having
their centers black. The underside of the body and the legs are brilliant coppery,
the feet being deep shining green, their last joint and the hooks at its end black.
Here also the surface is everywhere thickly punctured, the punctures on the venter or
hind part of the body opening backwards. The last segment has an elevated line in
the middle at its base, and its apex is cut off by a straight line, in the middle of which
is commonly a small projecting tooth. The anterior thighs are remarkably large,
from which circumstance this species has received its name, and they have an angu-
lar projection on their inner sides, beyond the middle. The tibia,1, or shanks, of these
legs are slightly curved. (Fitch.)
Remedies. — Under this bead we extract the following suggestions
from Fitch :
The remedies for destroying this borer must necessarily be much the same with
those already stated for the common borer or striped Saperda. They consist essen-
tially of three measures: First, coating or impregnating the bark with some sub-
stance repulsive to the insect; second, destroying the beetle by hand-picking; and,
third, destroying the larva by cutting into and extracting it from its burrow.
As it is during the month of June and forepart of July that the beetle frequents
the trees for the purpose of depositing its eggs in the bark, it is probable that white-
washing the trunk and large limbs or rubbiug them over with soft soap early in
June will secure them from molestation from this enemy. And in districts where this
borer is known to infest the apple trees the trees should be repeatedly inspected dur-
ing this part of the year, and any of these beetles that are found upon them should
be captured and destroyed. It is at midday of warm, sunshiny days that the search
OAK-BORERS.
69
for them will be most successful, as they are then most active and show themselves
abroad. The larvae, when young, appear to have the same habit with most other
borers, of keeping their burrow clean by throwing their castings out of it through a
small orifice in the bark. They can, therefore, be discovered probably by the new
sawdust-like powder which will be found adhering to the outer surface of the bark.
In August or September, while the worms are yet young and before they have pen-
etrated the heart- wood, the trees should be carefully examined for these worms.
Wherever, from any particles of the sawdust-like powder appearing externally upon
the bark, one of these worms is suspected, it will be easy, at least in young trees,
where the bark is thin and smooth, to ascertain by puncturing it with a stiff pin
whether there is any hollow cavity beneath, and if one is discovered, the bark should
be cut away with a knife until the worm is found and destroyed. After it has pen-
etrated the solid wood it ceases to eject its castings, and, consequently, we are then
left without any clew by which to discover it. Hence the importance of searching
for it seasonably.
The following ichneumon parasites are said by Riley to keep the
numbers of the larvae in check, besides a chalcid fly : Bracon charus
Riley and Gryptus or Labena grallator Say.
8. The green-headed chrysobothris.
Chry8obothri8 chlorocephala (Gory).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Buprestid^e.
Probably boring under the bark of the white-oak, with habits similar to those of
other fiat-headed borers of the oak ; a Buprestid beetle.
9. The northern brenthian.
Eupsalis minuta (Drury).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Brenthid,e.
Boring into the solid wood of the white oak, forming a cylin-
drical passage, a slender grub £ inch long and not quite 0.05 inch
thick, changing to a weevil with a large, very thick snout.
The habits and transformations of this beetle were
first described by Dr. Riley, the original account given ^thi^cM^
by Dr. Harris proving erroneous, his larva being that of
a Tenebrionid beetle, as stated by Riley. This interest-
ing weevil may be found on the trunk and under the bark of the white
oak in June and July in New England, or in May and June in New
York and Missouri, having then assumed the imago or beetle con-
dition. Riley states that it is equally common on the black, red, and
post oaks ; that it bores in all directions through the heart- wood, and
is found most commonly in stumps or in felled trees the year after
they are cut.
The beetle differs from other weevils in that the snout projects straight
out in front, not being curved downwards as in weevils in general. * In
the male the snout is much broader and flatter than in the female, but
cephala.— Smith,
del.
Pig. 20.— Northern Brenthiiin; a, lai-va; b, pu-
pa; c, beetle, female ; d, head of male; e, 4th
antfcimal joint; /, leg; gl, parts of larval
head. — Alter Riley.
70 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAX COMMISSION.
varies considerably, especially in .the males, both in length and breadth.
It is of a mahogany brown, the thorax .smooth and highly polished, and
the wing-covers strongly furrowed,
shaded with deeper brown, and
marked with narrow tawny-yellow
spots. It is from one-fourth to a little
over one-half an inch in length. The
males are, contrary to the general
rule in insects, almost invariably the
larger. The males of the Brenthiaus
are known to fight desperately for the
female, and, as has been remarked by
Mr. A. R. Wallace,* it is interesting,
" as bearing on the question of sexual
selection, that in this case, as in the
stag beetles, when the males fight to-
gether, they should be not only better armed, but also much larger
than the females." (Riley.)
According to Riley, in Missouri the eggs are deposited during the
months of May and June. The female bores a cylindrical hole in the
bark with her slender snout and pushes an egg to the bottom of the
hole.
" It requires about a day to make a puncture and deposit the egg.
During the time the puncture is being made the male stands guard,
occasionally assisting the female in extracting her beak ; this he does
by stationing himself at a right angle with her body, and by pressing
his heavy prosteruum against the tip of her abdomen ; her stout fore-
legs serving as a fulcrum and her long body as a lever. When the
beak is extracted, the female uses her antennae for freeing the pincers
or jaws of bits of wood or dust, the antennae being furnished with stiff
hairs and forming an excellent brush. Should a strange male ap-
proach, a heavy contest at once ensues, and continues until one or the
other is thrown from the tree. The successful party then takes his sta-
tion as guard." (W. R. Howard, in Riley's Sixth Report.)
Riley thinks that the larva lives but a single year, although larvae of
different sizes occur in midwinter with the beetles.
The larva. — Length, 0.55-0.75 inch ; di;«meter in middle of body, 0.05 inch. Body
almost straight, cylindrical, 12-jointed, with a few faint hairs only on prothorax and
around anus; thoracic joints short, bent a little forward, swollen and broadly and
deeply wrinkled, with two especially prominent swellings on top of joints 2 and 3,
converging towards head, and having each a granulated rufous spot ; the other joints
with about three dorsal transverse wrinkles ; joints 5-9 subequal, as long as 1-3 to-
gether, twice as long as 4 ; 10-12 diminishing in length, slightly swollen, the anus
"The Malay Archipelago, p. 482. The line by the side of the insect in this and
other cuts indicates the length of the insect, most of the sketches being enlarged
views.
OAK-BORERS. 71
retracted ; 6 very small 3-jointed thoracic legs, the terminal joint being a mere bristle ;
stigmata quite distinct and brown, the first pair much the largest, between the fold
of joints 2 and 3 ; the others on anterior fifth of joints 4-11, the last pair more dorsal
than the rest. Head pale yellow, darker around mouth; rounded, more or less bent
over the breast, with sparse, stiff, pale hairs springing from elevated points ; ocelli,
none ; antennse not visible, unless a dusky prominence lying close between mandibles
and maxillfB be called such ; labium small, with two depressions and other inequali-
ties, the margins slightly angular, allowing the jaws to closely fit around it; jaws
stout, triangular, the inner margin produced at middle into a larger and smaller tooth,
and with a slight excavation near tip ; maxilla? long, with but a short, horny cardinal
piece ; the palpi apparently 2-jointed and with difficulty resolved, on account of three
or four other prominences around them ; garnished on the inside with a close row of
stiff hairs and on the outside with two stouter hairs; labium large, oboval, the palpi
placed in front and 2-jointed.
Pupa. — Average length 0.40 inch, with the antennae curled back over the thorax,
the seven or eight terminal joints each with a more or less distinct, forwardly-directed,
brown thorn ; the snout lying on the breast and varying according to sex ; abdominal
joints with a more or less distinct row of small thorns on the posterior dorsal edge,
the last joint with a more prominent thorn directed backwards in a line with the
body. (Riley.)
10. The gray-sided oak weevil.
Pandeletius hilaris (Herbst).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Curculionid^:.
Making a smaller burrow than that of the Northern Brenthian, a worm like that of
the plum weevil and changing to a gray weevil, found on the leaves
from May to September.
Beyond the fact stated by Harris that the larva lives
in the trunks of white oaks, on which the beetles occur
from late in May to September, we know nothing of this T
insect.
The beetle. — A little pale-brown beetle, variegated with gray upon
the sides. Its snout is short, broad, and slightly furrowed in the
middle; there are three blackish stripes on the thorax, between Fig. 21.— Pandele-
which are two of a light-gray color ; the wing-covers have a broad Smith, del.
stripe of light gray on the outer side, edged within by a slender
blackish line, and sending two short oblique branches almost across each wing-cover ;
and the fore legs are larger than the others. Length from one-eighth to one-fifth of
an inch. (Harris.)
11. The quercitron bark-borer.
Graphisurus fasciatus (De Geer).
Order Coleoptera ; Family CERAMBYCiDiE.
Feeding upon and destroyiug the quercitron bark of newly-felled trees, forming
large tracks filled with worm-dust, a white, footless grub about 0.60 inch long, and
with a transverse oval tawny-yellow spot on the middle of each wing above and be-
low; in June transforming to a long-horned beetle about one-half an inch long, of
an ash-gray color sprinkled with blackish spots and punctures, and back of the mid-
dle of its wing-covers an irregular oblique black band; the female with a straight
awl-like ovipositor nearly one-quarter of an inch in length. (Fitch.)
72 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Fig. 22
tn*, female
Graphiguni8 fascia-
Smith, del.
Prof. Riley found this insect boring in the wood of a rotten oak-
st inn p in May, 1872, at St. Louis, Mo.
The bark called quercitron, of the Quercus
Hnctoria, is highly valued as a dye, and is much
worm-eaten by this insect.
The parent of the worm differs remarkably from all the
other beetles of this group in that the female is furnished
with a straight awl-like ovipositor nearly a quarter of an
inch in length, projecting horizontally backwards from
the end of her body. The importance of this implement
becomes manifest when we observe the thickness of the
bark of the black oak, with its outer layers so dry and
hard that they form, as it were, a coat of mail, protecting
the trunk of the tree against the attacks of its enemies.
Equipped as she is, however, the female of this beetle is
able to perforate this hard outer bark and sink her eggs
through it, placing them where her young will find them-
selves surrounded with their appropriate food. The
worms from these eggs mine their burrows mostly length-
wise of the grain or fibers of the bark, and the channels
which they excavate are so numerous and so filled with
worm-dust of the same color with the bark that it is diffi-
cult to trace them. The eggs are deposited the latter part of June, and the worms
grow to their full size by the close of the season, and will be found during the winter
and spring, lying in the inner layers of the bark, in a small oval flattened cavity
about an inch in length, which is usually at the larger end of the track they have
traveled.
The larva is divided by transverse constrictions into twelve rings, the last one
being double. The head is small and retracted more or less into the neck, its base
white and shining, and its anterior part deep tawny yellow, and along each side black.
The neck or first ring is much longer as well as thicker than any of the others, the
two rings next to it being shortest. From the neck the body of the worm is slightly
tapered backwards to the middle, from whence it has nearly the same diameter to the
tip, where it is bluntly rounded. Upon the upper side of the neck, occupying the
basal half of this ring, is a large transverse tawny-jellowspot, rounded upon its for-
ward side ; but no corresponding spot appears on the under side of this ring. On the
middle of all the other rings, except the two last, both above and below, is an ele-
vated, rough, transverse, oval spot of a tawny-yellow color.
The beetle, like other species of the family to which it pertains, varies greatly in
its size, specimens before me being of all lengths, from 0.35 to 0.58. It is of an ash-
gray color from short incumbent hairs or scales, which have a faint tinge of tawny
yellow except along the suture of the wing-covers. It is also bearded with fine erect
blackish hairs which arise from coarsish black punctures which are sprinkled over
the thorax and wing-covers, several of which punctures are in the centre of small
black dots, which in places are confluent into small irregular spots. The head is of
the same width as the auterior end of the thorax, and has a deep narrow furrow along
its middle its whole length, and on the crown is an oval blackish spot on each side of
this furrow. The face is dark gray, and the antennae are black with an ash-gray band
occupying the basal half of each of the joints. The thorax is narrower than the
wing-covers, more broad than long, and thickest across its middle. Upon each side
slightly back of the middle is an angular projection or short broad spine, blunt at its
tip. On the middle of the back, between the centre and the base, is a short im-
pressed line, and on each side of this, extending the whole length of the thorax, is a
wavy blackish stripe, which is suddenly widened towards its hind end, and is some-
OAK-BORERS. 73
times interrupted in its middle. Often, also, there is a blackish spot between the
anterior ends of these stripes, extending from the centre of the thorax to its forward
end. The scutel is ash-gray in its middle and black upon each side. The wing-cov-
ers almost always show a large oblique and irregular triangular spot of black on their
outer side forward of the middle, and always behind the middle isau irregular black
obliqueband, which seldom reaches to the suture, and which has a notch in the mid-
dle of its anterior side, and opposite to this on its hind side a large angular projection
extending backward. Immediately back of this band is an irregular spot of a
paler black color, which is sometimes confluent with the band; and there is also a
small blackish spot on the outer side of the tips. The tips are cut off, sometimes
transversely in a straight line, but usually concavely, and sometimes presenting a
slight tooth-like projection on each side. The legs are ash-gray, the thighs with two
black spots on their upper side, and the shanks with a black band at their base and
another at their tip, these bands being more broad on the hind pair.
On elevating the loose bark of fallen trees the forepart of June, these insects will
be found therein, lying in the cavities already mentioned, some of them being still in
their pupa state, while others are changed to their perfect form, ready with the stout
jaws and sharp teeth with which they are furnished to gnaw their way through the
bark and come abroad.
This species occurs throughout the United States and Canada. Different specimens
of it, however, vary greatly in their aspect. Even when newly born, among the in-
dividuals in the bark of the same tree, considerable diversities in size and markings
may be noticed. And the beetles found in this situation have their colors so much
brighter and their spots and bands so much more distinct and clearly defined that I
supposed them to be a different species from fasciatus for several years and until spec-
imens came to hand showing a gradual transition from these to the older individuals
which we usually capture. abroad, and meet with preserved in cabinets, in which the
colors have become faded and dim and the marks obscure and partially obliterated.
In the shape of some of its parts, also, different specimens are liable to vary. (Fitch.)
12. The oak liopus.
Liopus querci Fitch.
Order Coleoptera; Family Cerambycid^;.
Probably boring in the red and white oak, the beetle occurring on the leaves early
in July.
A very small, long-horned beetle, which I am unable to refer to any
of the described species, I am assured lives at the expense of the red
and white oak, from meeting with it upon those trees standing apart
from others in fields. As the larvae of kindred species burrow in the
bark of trees, this will probably be found in the same situation in oaks.
The beetle is met with upon the leaves of these trees early in July. It
is very closely related to the Facetious Liopus. (Fitch.)
The beetle. — It isO.20 inch long, and black, with ash-gray wing-covers, which are punc-
tured and marked with a large black spot on the base of their suture in the form of a
cross, and a broad black band slightly back of their middle, which is angulated, some-
what resembling an inverted letter W, this band often having a small ash-gray spot
placed in it near its outer ends. Forward of this band are two black dots or short lines
on each wing-cover, and sometimes a third dot back of it. There is also a dusky spot,
'usually on the tips of the wing covers, and their deflected outer margin is black. The'
wing-covers are rounded at their tips. The thorax sometimes shows three faint gray
stripes above. It is narrowed anteriorly, and on each side slightly forward of the
74
FIFTH KEPOKT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
base is a short, broad, sharp-pointed spine, from the tip of which, forward, the sides
are straight. The long, thread-like antenna- are dull yellow, with a slight duskiness
at tin- end of each joint. The legs are blackish, with the bases of the thighs, and
frequently of the shauks also, pale dull yellow, the hind thighs being less thickened
towards their tips thau the four forward ones | Fitch.)
13. Thk THUNDERBOLT BEETLE.
Arhopaht8 fulminant (Fabr.).
Order Coleoptera; Family Cekambycid^.
Excavating a burrow in the soft sap-wood, about three inches long and 0.20 iuch
in diameter, a worm like the apple-tree borer, which changes to a long-horned beetle.
This beetle is said by Fitch to infest the oak, excavating a burrow in
the soft sap-wood about three inches long and 0.20 inch in diameter,
this burrow having the shape of a much bent bow or a letter U. It
changes to a pupa in the same cell, the beetle appearing in July. We
have also found that it bores in the chestnut, and for a description and
figure of the beetle would refer the reader to the account of insects in-
festing the chestnut.
14. The white-oak piiymatodes.
Phymatodes variabilis (Lien.).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Cerambycid^e.
Boring the trunk and branches of the white oak, a narrow longicorn larva, chang-
ing to a reddish-yellow thick-bodied longicorn beetle, more or less marked with blue.
Several specimens of this beetle were taken by Mr. Alfred Poor from
a white-oak stick, Juue 20. It was collected on a pile of oak cord wood,
May 30, by Mr. Oalder; and I have a specimen of it from Salt Lake
City, Utah, identified by Dr. Horn. It is undoubtedly closely similar
in its habits and in the form of the larva to the grape Phymatodes fig-
ured in our first report on the injurious insects of Massachusetts, and is
one of our more common species of the genus.
Beetle.— It is closely allied to P. amevnus, but is larger
and less coarsely punctured, while the antennae are
more reddish; the scutellum is concolorous with the
wing-covers. The body, legs (except the femora, which
are blackish in the middle), and antennae are reddish,
the tips of the joints of the latter dark, and on the
back of the prothorax are two black spots, ofteu con-
fluent. The head is black. The wing-covers are Prus-
sian blue, smooth, fiuely punctured, with rather thick,
fine, black hairs, bent downwards. Specimens recently
changed from the pupa state are brown, and the species
is exposed to considerable variation, as its name indi-
cates. The male is just half an inch long, the female
.60 inch.
The foregoiug description is taken from our second report on the in-
jurious insects of Massachusetts. The pupa of this beetle was also
Fig. 23.— Phrmatodes variabilis —
Smith, del.
OAK-BORERS.
75
found at Providence, May 30, 1862, by Mr. George Hunt, under the bark
of the oak (not the white oak); the beetle appeared June 8. We add
the following description of the larva of a closely allied species, P.
amcenus, Fig. 24, which injures the trunk of the grape:
The larva of the Grape Phymatodes. — Several years ago I received from Dr. S'liraer, of
Illinois, specimens of the larva, pupa, and adult of this pretty insect (Callidium ameenum
of Say), which is not uncommon in our own State. So much alike are all the borers
of this family of long-horned beetles that long and prolix descriptions and carefully
drawn figures of the mouth parts (wherein most of the differences lie) are absolutely
necessary for their identification.
The larva (Fig. 24, b, head seen from above; c, seen from beneath) has a small head,
which is a little mor>; than half as wide as the prothoracic segment. This latter, be-
Fig. 24.— Grape Phymatodes: a, larva, b, upper side; c, under side, of
head of larva much enlarged.— From Packard.
ing the segment immediately succeeding the head, is half as long as broad, with a
distinct median suture and four chitinous patches; the two middle ones transverse
and irregularly oblong, being about twice as broad as long, the outer spots being lon-
gitudinal to the segment, and oblong in form, or about twice as loug as broad. The
three segments succeeding are of nearly equal length and width, being about half as
long as the prothoracic segment, and not much narrower. The body decreases in
width towards the posterior half, winch is of equal width throughout, the end sud-
denly rounding off; the terminal three segments are indicated by very slightly-
marked sutures, and together form a straight cylindrical portion nearly as long as the
three segments in advance of it taken collectively. The body is slightly hairy, with,
a few fine, pale hairs on the top of the segment next behind the head. The basal
portion of the head (epicranium) is broad and smooth, with a few hairs on the edge.
The eyes are two small black dots, each situated a little behind the base of the an-
tennae, and in a line with them. The frontal piece (clypeus) is very small, about
three times as broad as loug, while the miuute upper lip (labrum) is two-thirds as
long as broad ; they together form a somewhat triangular portion resting on the
inner edge of the mandibles, which are broad and short, the ends broad and square,
and blackish in color. The antennae are not quite so large or as long as the maxil-
lary palpi ; they are four-jointed, the first joint being thick, the second joint a third
shorter than the third, while the fourth joint is filiform and about as long as the
second joint. The under side of the head is chitinous, with a mesial snbtriangular
fleshy area. The chin (mentum) is square, not much longer than broad. The under
lip (labium) is one-half as loug as broad. The labial palpi are three-jointed, the
basal joint being one-half as long as the second ; the third joint is minute, short, and
' hairy. The maxillary palpi are four-jointed, the first joint being twice as thick as
the third, the second and third are of nearly equal length, while the fourth is slender
and nearly as long as the second or third. The maxillary lobe is large and broad,
76 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
reaching out to tho labial palpi and as far as the end of third joint of the maxillary
palpi : there are a few hairs on the end of it.
On the upper aide of the segments behind the prothoracic is a faint, transverse im-
pressed line, with two or three short creases radiating from each end. On the eighth
ninth, and tenth rings these creases become much longer and are parallel to the
median line of the body, while the transverse crease disappears.
Then' arc nine pairs of stigmata, one pair on the mesothorax, the remainder on the
first right abdominal segments. There are three pairs of rudimentary thoracic feet,
represented by very minute two-jointed tubercles, the basal joint consisting of a
simple chitinous ring. The under side of the body is more hairy than above. On
the underside of the prothoracic segment is a pair of round, smooth, very slightly
chitinous spots, which are succeeded ou each of the other rings by a pair of short,
impressed oblique lines.
It is nearly half an inch (.45) in length.
It may be readily recognized by the four chitinous patches on the prothorax and
by the very minute clypeus and labrum. The upper side of the prothorax is inclined
downward towards the head, but not so much as in Clytus.
The pupa.— It is white, with the wing-covers reaching to the end of the second
abdominal segment. The antennae are not much curved, reaching to the end of the
third abdominal segment, and resting above the legs. The prothorax is swollen just
behind the middle and is just as long as broad. The maxillary palpi are long, reach-
ing nearly tc theend of the coxae. The labial palpi reach a little beyond the middle of
the maxillary palpi. The two anterior pairs of legs are folded at right angles to the
body, the third pair obliquely. The first pair of tarsi reach to the base of the second
tarsi ; the second pair of tarsi reach to the coxae of the third pair of legs. It is a
third of an inch (.33) in length.
The beetle.— Ph. amcenut has a reddish body, with Prussian-blue wing-covers. The
prothorax is just as long as broad, with the sides moderately convex, and broadest
just behind the middle. The antennae and tibiae are blackish brown, the tarsi being
dull red, the hind pair being darker than the others, and the femora are reddish. The
prothorax is distinctly punctured, while the elytra are very coarsely punctured. The
scutellum is pale reddish. It is a quarter of an inch iu length. A single specimen
received from Illinois.
15. The white-banded phymatodes.
Phymatodes varius (Fabricius).
Order Coleoptera; Family Cerambychxe.
Several specimens of this beetle were met with a few years since, the
last of May, on the trunk of a black oak, in which, it is probable, their
younger state had been passed. It is closely re-
lated to the black varieties of P. varius Fab., but
is a third smaller, with the white bands much
more slender, and the surface of the wing-covers
is perceptibly more rough than in my specimens
of that insect, notwithstanding their smaller
size. Its thorax is densely punctured, with a
short smooth stripe between the center and the
base. One of the specimens varies in having
the posterior white band wholly wanting.
(Fitch.)
fio. 25 —phymatodes varius- I have found near Providence several of these
pretty little beetles, of both sexes, running in
OAK-BORERS.
77
and out of a pile of oak cord- wood in the forest, May 30, under such
circumstances as convinced me they prey upon the white oak. They
were identified by Dr. Horn.
Beetle. — Black, 0.25 in length or slightly less, and about a third as broad, somewhat
flattened, clothed with fine erect gray hairs; its wing-covers with two distinct
slender white bands which do not reach the suture, the anterior one more slender
than the hind one and curved; the antennae and slender portions of the legs usually
chestnut colored.
16. The common oak clytus.
Xylotrechus colonus (Fabr.).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Cerambycid^e.
Larva, with details. Plate XXII, Figs. 2, 2a.
Mining between the bark and the wood of the oak, up and down the trunk, and
making a broad, shallow, irregular groove about 5mm wide; the larva, pupa, and
beetle occurring late in May and early in June.
I have found, in company with Mr. Calder, the larvae of this pretty
beetle in abundance mining under the bark of a fallen (probably white)
Fig. 26.— Xylotrechus colonus ; a, pupa; c, end of body, enlarged; the other figures represent details
lab, of the larva, all enlarged; a', antenna; lb, labrum; md, mandible; mx, maxilla with the palpus;
labium. — Gissler, del.
oak, near Providence, May 26; several pupae were also found, one trans-
forming to a beetle May 27. The mine extends up and down the trunk,
and is of the usual form of longicorn mines, being a broad, shallow, ir-
regularly sinuous burrow, and extending part of the way around the
trunk, the diameter near the end of the burrow being 5mm.*
* Larvae of this insect were found February 25, 188-2, boring in dry wood of white
oak at Washington, D. C. The color of the larvae is pale yellowish or whitish. A
yellowish band crosses the posterior part of the cervical shield and is beset* with
short, glistening, backward-directed hairs. The beetles commenced issuing July 3,
1882. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
78 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Mr. George Hunt has found the beetle uuder the bark of au old
BQgar maple tree in northern New York, among the Adirondacks.
Lana —Body of the usual shape, near that of Phyinatodes. Prothorax less than
out -half as long as wide : disk exactly one-half as long as wide ; the disk is smooth
on the posterior half, irregular on the frontedge, with a hroad, irregular median lobe
in front ; the front edge of this smooth space is often tinged with dark. In frout of
this smooth area is a clear, pale, hairy space, and still beyond (anteriorly) are two
irregularly oval spaces which are hairy and irregularly spotted, and often tinted
dark. The under side of the prothoraeic segment is quite hairy, with minute oval
pat (lies among the hairs, and with two conspicuous small, dark, diverging patches
on the middle of the segment, but situated rather far apart. Mesothoracic segment a
little narrower than the prothoraeic and shorter than the metathoracic segment, the
latter a little shorter and but very slightly wider than the mesothoracic segment.
Body contracted on the sixth abdominal segment, which is considerably narrower
than the succeeding part of the abdomen, the seventh abdominal segment being wider
than the sixth and of the same width as the eighth ; the ninth much shorter and two-
thirds as wide as the eighth. The tenth segment small, one-half as wide, but nearly
as long as the ninth. Abdominal segments two to seven with transversely oval,
raised, smooth callosities, those on the sixth and seventh being round instead of
oval ; beneath are similar callosities.
Head a little over one-half as wide as the prothoraeic segment ; antennae three-
jointed ; second joint one-half to two-thirds as long as the first and one-half as
thick. Third minute, about one-third as long as the second joint is thick. Maxilla
with the lobe as wide as the basal joint of the palpus and reaching to the end of the
second palpal joint; the maxilary palpi four-jointed, the second joint one-half as
wide as the first; the third just two-thirds as wide as the second ; the fourth as long
but one-half as thick as the third.
Labium with the ligula small and rounded, not more than one-third wider than
the basal joint of the labial palpus, the latter two-jointed, the second joint nearly as
long and about two-thirds as thick as the first. Mentum deeply cleft, one-half as
long as the submentum.
Labruin small, rounded, not so long as round; surface convex, with dense hairs.
Mandibles obtuse, rounded, not toothed.
Thoracic spiracles in the middle of the mesothoracic segment, with the usual eight
pairs of abdominal ones. Length of body, 17mm; width of prothoraeic segment,
4,5mm • length, 2mm ; width of seventh abdominal segment, 3mm.
Pupa. — Prothorax well rounded, as in Clytus beetles ; antennae sleuder, curving
backward and reaching to tne distal end of the middle femora. Femora much swol-
len, but the legs beyond slender, as in the beetle. (It will not be difficult to distin-
guish the genus, from the peculiar form of the thorax, the swollen femora, and the
slender legs and antennae.) Abdomen short, end of hiud femora extending to the
third segment from the end of the abdomen. Length, 12 to 13$",m.
The end of the body terminates in a pair of incurved hooks on each side, the inner
pair a little smaller than the outer. Six large recurved spines on the penultimate
abdominal segment, the other ahdominal segment with about two irregular rows of
minute stout spines adapted for progression.
Beetle. — Body rather long and narrow, not so broad and thick, nor the prothorax
so spherical as in A', undulatus; prothorax with the sides regularly arcuate, two ashen
spots on each side in front and behind, and a curvilinear spot jnst behind the middle.
Wing-covers with three broad, irregular, waved pale bands, the first a little in front
of the middle, the second much behind the middle, and the third situated on the
tips. Antenna' and legs dark-brown; reddish-pitchy in immature specimens. A
large, round yellow spot on the side between the middle and hind legs, succeeded by
vertical linear spots on the hinder edge of the abdominal segments. Length, 8 to
16mm.
OAK-BORERS.
79
"The markings are very variable, but the yellow, wavy line running from the
suture and forming the included mark seems to be constant and peculiar to the species.
(Leng.)
17. Smodicum cucujiforme (Say).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Ceram BYCiDiE.
This insect bores in the larval stage under the dry bark of the live-
oak (Florida), of the beech in Michigan, and of the hackberry in Texas,
(E. A. Schwarz.)
18. The horn-tailed borer, or pigeon tremex.
Tremex columba Linn.
Order Hymenoptera; Family Urocerid.e.
This insect is known to infest the oak, but oftener bores into the
maple, under which head the insect will be described.
19. Mallodon dasystomus (Say).
Order Coleoptera; Family Cerambycidje.
This insect bores in the live-oak, hackberry, pecan; attacking trees
in healthy condition, and often greatly injuring them, but preferring
trees which have already suffered from some cause. The beetle issues
from April till August in Florida and Texas. (E. A. Schwarz.)
Fig. 27.— Mallodon dasystomus. After Horn.
Fig. 28.— Typocerus zebratus. Smith, del.
Beetle. — Mandibles nearly horizontal, prolonged in the male; sutural angle of elytra
spiniform in both sexes ; the metathoracic episterna, with the inner outline straight;
the gense emarginate. Length, 30 to 50mm (1.25 to 2 inches). (Horn.)
80
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
20. Ti/pocerua zebratu-s Fabr.
This pretty beetle mines the white oak.
by the accompanying figure. The body-
is black- brown, with reddish antenna*
and legs, and four yellow cross-bars on
each wing cover; that on the base much
curved, while the fourth is straight. —
Length, 12 to 14mm.
21. The oak-hark weevil.
Matjdalis ohjra (Herbst).
Order Coleuptera; Family Curculionid^:.
Boring under the bark of the oak, probably after
it has been loosened by the flat-headed borers, a
curved, fat, footless grub, with the head freer from
the body than in the larval pine weevil ; occurring
in all stages under the bark in May, and possibly
producing a radiating track, as in Fig. 30; trans-
forming into a black weevil, with the surface of
the body punctured, the thorax with a lateral
sharp tubercle on the front edge, while the tarsi
are reddish brown, with whitish hairs.
Fig. 30 represents the mines possibly
made by this weevil.* The original speci-
men of the bark was taken from the same
It may be easily recognized
Fig. 29.— a, larva ; b, pupa, ana adult of the oak-
bark weevil. After Eraertou.
Fig. 30.— Track made by Magdalis ohjra, or
a longicorn I After Emerton.
tree, as numerous individuals of the beetle occurred in different stages
of growth and no other weevils or Scolytidre were present. The beetle
which makes the burrow may have been a weevil from the shape of the
burrow, which is long, narrow, and deep, being about four inches long.
It will be seen by reference to the illustration that the parent beetle laid
at least seven eggs in an opening in the bark ; when the larva± hatched
Mr. P. H. Chittenden writes that it may be the mine of another beetle.
OAK-BORERS. 81
they mined the bark and scored the wood in directions radiating on one
side of the place of oviposition ; in one caseamiue went directly across
the one next to it. The specimen figured was found at Salem, Mass.
Beetle.— Of the form indicated by the figure ; prothorax square, augulated on each
side in front, with a short spine on each wing-cover, with eleven well-marked ridges.
Color, dark brown, with paler, stiff, short, hirsuties. Base and tips of femora and rest
of the legs, including the antennae, pitchy reddish. Length, 6to8mm.
22. The silky timber-beetle.
Lymexylon sericeum (Harris). .
Order Coleoptera ; Family Lymexylid^e.
Boring small long cylindrical burrows in the wood of the oak, probably, and other
trees; a slender, odd-looking worm, with six legs placed on its breast, a prominent
hump upon its neck, and a leaf-like fleshy appendage at the end of its back ; chang-
ing into a long, narrow chestnut-brown beetle, 0.50 long, bearded with short, shining,
yellowish hairs, giving it a silky luster ; its eyes large and almost meeting together
above and below, and its wing-covers tapering and shorter than the body. See
Harris's Treatise, p. 51. (Fitch.)
23. The American timber-beetle.
Hyleccetus americanus (Harris).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Lymexylid^e.
A worm very similar to the preceding, but with a straight, sharp-pointed horn at
the end of its back in place of a leaf-like appendage ; changing into a pale brownish
red beetle, 0.40 long ; its wing-covers, except at their base and its breast, black, its
eyes small, and a glassy dot on the middle of its forehead resembling a small eyelet.
(See Harris's Treatise, p. 51.)
This and the preceding are very rare insects, and their larvae have
never been detected, but are inferred by Dr. Harris to inhabit oaks and
to have the singular forms above indicated, from the analogy of the per-
fect insects to two European species. Foreign writers, I see, are misled
by Dr. Harris's account into supposing that it is authentically ascer-
tained that our insects coincide in their larva state with the European
species. (Fitch.)
Beetle. — Its head, thorax, abdomen, and legs are light brownish red ; the wing-
covers, except at the base, where they are also red, and the breast, between the middle
and hindmost legs, are black. Head not bowed down under the prothorax ; eyes
small and black ; on the middle of the forehead is one small reddish eyelet ; antennae
like those of Lymexylon sericeum, but shorter ; thorax nearly square, but wider than
long; and in each wing-cover are three slightly elevated ribs. Length, 10mm (7%
inch). (Harris.)
Microclytus gazelhila (Haldeman).
This beetle has been found in the oak in early May at Buffalo, N.
Y., by Messrs. Reinecke and Zesch. (Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc, vi, 36.)
5 ent 6
82 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
24. Thb pbeblb oak hokkk.
Goet (Ubili8 (Leconte).
Order Coi.kmi-tkka; Family Ckra.MBYCIDjE.
A cylindrical long-horned beetle, which has recently been described
by Dr. Leconte under the above name, is bo uniformly found upon
white-oak trees in July and August that I doubt not its larva is a borer
in the trunks of these trees, perforating the wood, probably, in a man-
ner similar to that of the marked pine borer, and the worm resembling
that in its appearance. This beetle is half au inch long and scarcely a
third as broad, of a black color, its wing-covers chestnut red, its surface
having a marbled appearance, produced by short prostrate hairs of a
dull ocher-yellow color, except on the anterior half of the wing-covers,
where they are gray, and are here followed by a tawny brown spot des-
titute of these paler hairs. (Fitch.) For a figure aud further mention
the reader is referred to Hickory Insects.
25. Goes t'ujrinm (De Geer).
This species, according to Adams Tolmau (Insect Life, i, 343), kkis
commonly taken on the oak in Philadelphia." Mr. Tolman, however,
does not specifically state that this borer lives in the oak; but we in-
sert it under oak borers, as it may yet be found to infest the oak. It
is figured aud noticed under Hickory Insects.
26. The brown prioxi's.
Orthosoma brnnneum (Forster).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Cerambycid.e.
The larvre of this beetle have been found in rotten oak and walnut
stumps by Mr. George Hunt, near Providence, but as it is more com-
monly met with in piue logs the reader is referred to the account of it
given under piue insects.
27. Unknown longicorn borer prom ax oak log.
(PI. xxi, Fig. :3.)
Larva. — Body of large size, gradually tapering to the penultimate segment, with
three pairs of thoracic legs of moderate size.
Head small and much rounded. Labium small and unusually narrow, well rounded
on the front edge. Antennae conspicuous, unusually long; second joint very long
and slender, longer than the basal one is thick ; third joint minute and acute at tip.
Labium very small, squarish; subinentum and mentnm both rectangular, broader
Than long; the ligula narrow, much rounded in front: labial palpi three-jointed;
third joint obtuse, as long as the second. Maxillary lobe very broad and rather short,
not reaching beyond the end of the second palpal joint. Maxillary palpi three-jointed :
firs! joint very short and broad, second one-half as thick as the first, the third slender
and a little longer than the second. Mandibles niuch rounded and entire at tip.
THE OAK-PRUNER.
83
The callosities on the segments, as figured in the cut, are prominent, more or less
rounded tubercles with the surface divided irregularly by impressed lines.
Length, 35mm ; width of prothoracic segment, 8min ; length, 3mm ; length of a leg
with terminal claw, 0.4mm ; length from base of labruni to posterior edge of meta-
thoracic segment, 5,nm; length of first and second abdominal segment, each, 2mm;
length from base of third abdominal segment to end of body, 28mm ; width of each of
segments 2 to 6, 6mm ; the seventh and eighth segments are slightly wider.
Found in an oak log at Providence, R. I., May 20, 1881.
Compare also pi. xvii, Fig. 2; xix, Fig. 2; xx, Fig. 3.
AFFECTING THE LIMBS AND TWIGS.
28. The oak pruner. - .
Elaphidion villosum (Fabr.).
Order Coleoptera; Family Cerambycid^e.
Cutting on0 the branches of the white and black oak, which fall late in summer to
the ground, containing the larva, which becomes a beetle in the next midsummer
and lays its eggs near the axilla of a leaf stalk or small stem.
In walking under oak trees in the autumn oue's attention is often di-
rected to the large number of oak limbs and twigs lying on the ground.
Upon examination they will be found to have been partially gnawed off
b
Fig. 31.— Oak pruner: a, larva; 6, side view of the same; c, pupa. — From Packard.
by worms, the wind having further broken them off. This is the work
of the grub of the oak pruner. The insect's purpose in cutting off the
limb, whether conscious or not of any design in the matter, is probably, as
Peck first suggested, to afford the insect a sufficiently moist retreat to
live in during the winter. He supposed that the limb thus wounded
wculd become too dry for the maintenance of the soft-bodied larva,
hence it must be felled to the ground, where in the wet and under the
84 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
snows of winter it would remain sufficiently moist for the existence of
the insect, which completes its transformation within.
Mr. 0. A. Walker has brought us the insect in its different stages cut
out of oak branches, which occurred in abundance at Chelsea, Mass.
Late in August, 1888, this borer was reported to be especially abundant
in Warwick, R. I., so that the ground was said to be strewn with the
smaller branches of oak and locust trees. We arc indebted to Dr. Fitch
for the most detailed information regarding this curious longicorn :
The severed limbs are usually but eighteen inches or two feet in length, but Pro-
fesfiOT Peek States thai limbs an inch in thickness and live feet in length are sometimes
found. I have seen a limb cut off by this insect which was ten feet in length and an
inch and a tenth in thickness, and have repeatedly met with them seven and eight
feet long and usually an inch, but in one instance an inch and a quarter, in thickness.
The parent beetle seems aware that her progeny in their infancy will be too feeble
to masticate the hard woody fibers of the limb. She, therefore, selects one of the
small twigs which branch off from it, which is not thicker than a goose quill, with its
base composed of soft wood, the growth of the last year, all the remainder of the twig
being the green succulent growth of the present year. She places her egg near the
tip of this twig, in the angle where one of the leaf-stalks branches off from it. The
young worm which hatches therefrom sinks himself into the center of the twig and
feeds upon the soft pulpy tissue around him until it is all consumed, leaving only the
green outer bark, which is so thin and tender that it withers and dries up, and ere
long becomes broken. By the time this green tender end of the twig is consumed the
worm has acquired sufficient size and strength to attack the more solid woody portion
forming its lower end. He accordingly eats his way downward in the center of the
twig, consuming the pith, to its base, and onward into the main limb from which this
twig grows, extending his burrow obliquely downward to the center of the limb, to a
distance of half an inch or an inch below the point where the lateral twig is given off.
The worm, being about half grown, is now ready to cut the limb asunder. But this
is a most nice and critical operation, requiring much skill and calculation ; for the
limb must not break and fall while he is in the act of gnawing it apart, or he will be
crushed by being at the point where it bends and tears asunder, or will fall from the
cavity there when it breaks open and separates. To avoid such casualties, therefore,
he must after severing it have time to withdraw himself back into his hole in the
limb and plug the opening behind him before the limb breaks and falls. And this
little creature accordingly appears to be so much of a philosopher as to understand
the force of the winds and their action upon the limbs of the tree, so that he can bring
them into his service. He accordingly severs the limb so far that it will remain in
its position until a strong gust of wind strikes it, whereupon it will break off and fall.
But the most astonishing part of this feat remains to be noticed. The limb which
he cuts off is sometimes only a foot in length aud is consequently quite light; some-
times ten feet long, loaded with leaves, aud very heavy. A man by carefully inspect-
ing the length of the limb, the size of its branches, aud the amount of foliage growing
upon them could judge how far it should be severed to insure its being afterwards
broken by the winds. But this worm is imprisoned in a dark cell only an inch or two
long in the interior of the limb. How is it possible for this creature, therefore, to
know the length and weight of the limb and how far it should be cut asunder ? A man,
moreover, on cutting a number of limbs of different leugths so far that they will be
brokeu by the winds, will find that he has often miscalculated, and that several of the
limbs do not break off as he designed they should. This little worm, however, never
makes a mistake of this kind. If the limb be short it severs all the woody fibers,
leaving it hanging only by the outer bark. If it be longer a few of the woody fibers
on its upper side are left uncut in addition to the bark. If it be very long and heavy
THE OAK-PRUNER. 85
not more than thre ^-fourths of the wood will be severed. The annexed figures* repre-
seut the several ends of limbs of different sizes, the coarsely dotted parts of the two
first indicating the ragged broken ends of the woody fibers, the remainder being the
smooth surface cut by the worms, and the large black dot representing the perfora-
tion leading up the limb to where the worm lies. The first of these figures was taken
from the limb already spoken of as ten feet in length, aud here it will be noticed that
a portion of the stouter wood towards the center of the limb was preserved, as though
the worm had beeu aware that the weaker sappy fibers outside next to the bark could
not be relied upon for sustaining a limb of this size, as they are where the limb is
smaller. With such consummate skill and seemingly superterrestrial intelligence does
this philosophical little carpenter vary his proceedings to meet the circumstances of
his situation in each particular case ! But by tracing the next stage of his life we
shall be able to see how it is that he probably performs these feats which appear so
much beyond his sphere.
Having cut the limb asunder so far that he supposes it will break with the next
wind which arises, the worm withdraws himself into his burrow, aud that he may
not be stunned and drop therefrom should the limb strike the earth with violence
when it falls, he closes the opening behind him by inserting therein a wad formed of
elastic fibers of wood. He now feeds at his leisure upon the pith of the main limb,
hereby extending his burrow up this limb six or twelve inches or more, until he at-
tains his full growth — quietly awaiting the fall of the limb and his descent therein
to the ground. It is quite probable that he does not always sever the limb sufficiently,
in the first instance, for it to break and fall. Having cut it so much as he deems
prudent, he withdraws and commences feeding upon the pith of the limb above the
place where it is partially severed, until a high wind occurs. If the limb is not
hereby broken, as soon as the weather becomes calm he very probably returns and
gnaws off an additional portion of the wood, repeating this act again and again, it
may be, until a wind comes which accomplishes the desired result. And this serves
to explain to us why it is that the worm severs the limbs at such an early period of
his life. For the formidable undertaking of cutting asunder such an extent of hard
woody substance, we should expect he would await till he was almost grown and had
attained his full strength and vigor. But by entering upon this task when he is but
half grown he has ample opportunity to watch the result, and to return and perfect
the work if he discovers his first essay fails to accomplish the end he has in view.
Thus the first part of the life of this worm is passed in a small twig branching off
from the main limb. This is so slender and delicate that on being mined as it is by
the worm and all its green outer eud consumed, it dies and becomes so decayed and
brittle that it is usually broken off when the limb falls, whereby it has. escaped the
notice of writers hitherto. The remainder of his larva life is passed in the main
limb, first cutting off this limb sufficiently for it to break, with the force of the winds,
and then excavating a burrow upwards in the center of the limb, both before and
after it has fallen to the ground, feeding hereon until he has grown to his full size.
It is most frequently the limbs of the red and the black oak that I have met with
severed by the oak pruner, though it is not rare to fiud those of the scarlet oak ( Q.
coccinea) aud of the white oak lopped off in the same manner. Limbs of the beech
and chestnut not unfrequently and those of the birch, the apple, and probably of
other trees, are sometimes similarly severed. Mr. P. Weter, of Tirade, Walworth
County, Wis., informs me that the peach in his vicinity suffers in a similar mau-
ner, and to such an extent some years that the severed limbs, varying from a few
inches to two feet in length, are seen lyiug under almost every tree. We have in our
country several species of beetles very closely related to the oak pruner, but no at-
tempts have yet been made to ascertain their mode of life. It is very probable that
they all have this same habit of cutting off the limbs of trees, oue perhaps preferring
the wood of one kind of tree, another, another. This is the more probable, smce
* The figures have not been reproduced. — A. S. P.
86 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
there is considerable diversity in their operations, us shown by ftn examination of the
fall, ii limbs. Tims the scarlet oak, instead of having a hole bored in the severed end
of its limbs, commonly has half the wood eaten aw.iy on one side of the limb for the
length of an inch or more, with the cavity thus formed under the bark packed with
worm dust, and a cylindrical borrow from the upper end of this cavity running up-
wards in the ceuter of the limb, the same as in other cases.
It further appears that tin- female, when ready to drop an egg, is not always able
to And a small twig with a green succulent end Adapted to her wants. She then con-
signs her progeny to the bark of the main limb, and the young worm subsists on the
soft pnlpy matter between the bark and the wood, excavating a shallow irregular
cavity which is packed with worm dust, till it has acquired sufficient strength to
gnaw the wood, when it cuts off the limb as in other cases. It may, however, be a
different species from the common oak primer, which cradles its young thus beneath
the bark instead of iu a lateral twig. It is usually in the fallen limbs of the beech,
though sometimes in those of the oaks also, that I have met with these worm tracks
under the bark.
The bark of the beech, it will be recollected, is quite thin and very brittle, so that
it will illy serve to hold the limb in its place if the wood underneath is cut off in the
usual manner. And accordingly a remarkable modification of this operation will be
noticed iu the amputated limbs of this tree. The worm eats its way down the limb
beneath the bark until it has acquired sufficient strength to sever the woody fibers.
It then passes transversely around the limb beneath the bark, girdling it by cutting
off all the softer outer fibers and leaving the harder ones in the middle of the limg
uncut, whereby the limb is sustained until the wind strikes it. How surprising that
these little creatures have such intelligence given them as enables them to vary their
operatious to such an extent, according to the circumstances of their situation in each
particular case! I should be iuclined to think the beech primer a different species
from that of the oak, as it dwells beneath the bark instead of iu a lateral twig, and
cuts off the outer instead of the inner wood of the limb ; but the worm is identical
with that of the oak iu its external appearance, and one of these worms which I
placed iu a cage, falling from its fractured burrow in the beech limb, forsook this
wood and commeuced boring into an oak limb lying beside it.
Not only the limbs, but small young trees, at least of the white oak, are sometimes
felled by these insects; in which cases the worm, instead of cutting the wood off
transversely, severs it in a slanting or oblique direction, as though it were aware the
winds would prostrate a perpendicular shoot more readily by its being cut iu this
manner.
The larva grows to a length of 0.60, and is then 0.15 thick across its ueck, where it
is broadest. It tapers slightly from its ueck backwards, the hind part of its body
being nearly cylindrical. It is a soft or fleshy grub, somewhat shining and of a white
color, often slightly tinged with yellow, its head, which is small and retracted into
the neck, beiug black in front. It is divided, into twelve riugs by very deep, wide,
transverse grooves. The neck or first ring is much the largest, and shows two very
pale tawny yellow bands on its upper side, the auterior one slightly broken asunder in
its middle, and on each side beyond the ends of these bands is a spot of the same color.
The two or three rings next to the neck are shorter than the others, and less widely
separated from each other. A faint stripe of a darker color may be discerned along
the middle of the back, widely broken apart at each of the sutures. The last riug is
much narrower and more shining thau the others, and is cut across by a fine trans-
verse line, dividing it iuto two parts, of which the hinder one or tip is bearded with
small blackish hairs, and a few fiue hairs are perceptible upon the other rings. The
last two rings are retracted into the ring which precedes them, at the pleasure of the
animal, whereby this ring becomes humped and swollen ; and it appears to be chiefly
by thus enlarging the end of its body that the worm holds and moves itself about in
its cell, its feet being so weak aud minute that they are scarcely perceptible andean
THE OAK-PRUNER. 87
be of little service. It has three pairs ot soft, conical-jointed feet, resembling its an-
tennie in their size and shape. The first pair is placed on an elevated wrinkle of the
akin in the suture between the first and second segments of the thorax, more distant
from each other than are those of the second and third pairs, which are situated on
the middle of the elevation of the second and third segments.
Some of the worms enter their pupa state the last of autumn, and others not till
the following spring. Hence in examining the fallen limbs in the winter, a larva
may be found in one, a pupa in another. Preparatory to entering its pupa state, the
larva places a small wad of woody fibers, sometimes intermingled with worm-dust,
below it, in its burrow, and sometimes another wad above it if the burrow runs far
up the limb, thus partitioning off a room one or two inches in length in which to lie
during its pupa state. The shriveled cast skin of the larva will be found at the upper
end of this cell, after it has changed to a pupa.
Usually those insects which undergo a complete metamorphosis remain at rest,
lying dormant and motionless during their pupa state. The oak primer, however, is
a remarkable exception to this. Whenever its cell is opened it will be seen moving
from one end of it to the other with quite as much agility as it shows in its larva
state. The sutures of its abdomen have the same deep transverse grooves as in the
larvae, admitting the same amount of motion to this part of its body that it previously
had. And, lying on its back, it uses the tip of its abdomen as though it were furnished
with a proleg, the little sharp points with which it is covered being pressed against
the rough walls of the cell and the body pushed forward or drawn backward hereby,
step after step, at the will of the animal.
The pupa is of much the same size with the larva and of a yellowish-white color.
Its eyes are sometimes white, sometimes blackish-brown. The antenna-sheaths arise
in the notch upon the inner side of the eyes and, passing directly across the surface
of these organs, extend down along each side of the back above the sheath of the
fore and middle pairs of legs, then curving inward they pass back to the eye along
the inner side of the same legs, their ends being placed upon the eye slightly inside
of their origin. The knees of the hind legs protrude far out from under the upper
sides of the wing-sheaths forward of their tips, whilst the feet of these legs occupy
the space between the tips of the wing-sheaths. The back of the abdomen shows a
distinct, pale-brown stripe along the middle, on each side of which the surface of the
segments is furnished with numerous small, erect, sharp points of a dark brown color,
those on the apical segment being double the length of the others.
The beetle. — They are usually from 0.50 to 0.55 in length and 0.12 broad, of a slender,
cylindrical form, of a dull black color, tinged more or less with brown on the wing-
covers, more evidently so towards their tips, whilst the antennae are paler brown, and
the under side and legs chestnut colored, sometimes bright, sometimes dark and-
blackish. The surface is everywhere clothed with shortish, prostrate gray hairs, and
•on the wing-covers these are in places more dense, forming small gray spots, and on
each side of the thorax, in the middle, is a whitish dot, formed in the same manner.
Sometimes also on the base of the thorax, on each side of its middle, a short gray
stripe formed by these hairs is very obvious, whilst in other individuals no traces of
these stripes can be discerned.
The scutel also is densely covered and gray from these hairs. The surface, above,
is occupied by numerous coarse, round punctures, those on the thorax being of the
same size with those on the wing-covers, but more crowded, many of them running
into each other. Towards the tips of the wing-covers these punctures become per-
ceptibly smaller.
In at least three-fourths of the fallen limbs no worm is to be found; and an exam-
ination of them shows that the insect perished at the time the limb was severed, and
before it had excavated any burrow upward in its center, no perforation being present,
except that leading into the lateral twig. It is probable that in many of these in-
stances the limb broke when the worm was in the act of gnawing it asunder, either
from its own weight or from a wind arising whilst the work was in progress. And
88 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
even though tin- worn may have withdrawn into its hole and plugged the opening
behind it. it is frequently discovered here, probably, and devoured by birds. After a
violent wind in the rammer IMlSSOn, BOOM Of oar ins.-ct-eating birds may always be
noticed actively in search of limbs and trees that have thereby heeu broken, their
instinct teaching them that this breakage usually occurs from the wood being weak-
ened by the mining operation! of worms therein, whose lurking places are now opened
to them. And they will be seen industriously occupied in picking around the fract-
ured ends of the wood, and feasting upon the grubs which they there find. Num-
ben of OUT wood-boring larva- are thus destroyed, and the oak primer, notwith-
ing the precautions it takes to secrete itself, doubtless frequently falls a prey to these
ions fbragi
lUmtdies. — These insects will undoubtedly at times occur in such numbers as to
render it important that they be destroyed, at least where they resort to the |
or other valuable trees. And this may readily be effected by gathering and burning
the fallen limbs in the winter or the early part of spring. (Fitch's Fifth Report, pp.
1T--J4.)
We have preferred to quote in full Dr. Fitch's accouut of this infi
although somewhat prolix, and though he ascribes too much intelligence
to the larva. The following criticisms and observations are also quoted
in full from an article by Dr. John Hamilton, published in the Cana-
dian Entomologist, August, 1887 : *
Divested of all romance and imagination, and descending to facts, the observations
of Professors Peck, Fitch, and Harris may be reduced to this : In the month of July
the parent lays the eggs on the limbs or in the axil of a leaf near the end of the twigs
of that year's growth of various species of oak, and perhaps other trees. After hatch-
ing, the young larva (in the latter case) penetrates to the pith and devours it down-
wards till the woody base is reached, and so onward to the center of the main limb;
here it eats away a considerable portion of the inside of the limb and then, plugging
the end of the burrow, which it excavates towards the distal end, eventually falls to
the ground with the limb, which, being weakened, is broken off by the high autumnal
winds. They exist here either as larva? or pupa? till spring and emerge in June as
perfect beetles. Time, one year, though not so stated in words.
The account given in detail below is so different from the above that were the iden-
tity of the individualsn ot established by actual comparison and by recognized au-
thority, it might well be asserted I had giveu an account of some other Elajyhidion.
April, lr?83, I procured a barrel of hickory limbs from a tree girdled early in
The limbs were from one-half to 1 inch in diameter. Very few things developed from
them that season, but the next (1884) quite a number of species came forth — Clytan-
thus ruricola and albofasciatus, Xeoclytus luscus, and ertithrocephahts, Siemotpkmn
tatii8, etc. Many larva* of some CerambycicUe continued to work on under the bark.
Late in the fall I observed that most of these had penetrated the wood, but some re-
mained under the bark till April and May of the next year (1-85). The most of the
beetles appeared during the first two weeks of June, though individuals occurred
occasionally till September. A few Larvae were still found at work, but by October
they likewise had bored into the wood and appeared as beetles the next Juue (1886).
The normal period of metamorphosis is therefore three years, but in individuals it
may be retarded to four or more years.
At the present writing (June 5) these beetles are issuiug in great uumbers from a
barrel of hickory limbs obtained in April, 1S^>, from a tree deadened in January,
1884, thus verifying the first observation.
How the larva- get under the bark could not be ascertained. When lirst examined,
'Also reprinted in the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Entomological Society of
Ontario, 1857. pp. :>8-40.
THE OAK-PRUNER. 89
in April, they were from 4 to 5mm long. They ate the wood under the bark, follow-
ing its grain, and packed their burrows solidly with their dust. The growth and
progress were both slow, for by the next April they had scarcely more than doubled
in length and had not traveled more than from 4 to 6 inches during the year; but
after July they developed an euormous appetite and consumed the wood for at least
an inch in length and often entirely around the limb, ejecting their castings through
holes made in the bark. When full fed they bore obliquely an oval hole into the
wood, penetrating it from 4 to 10 inches. The larva then packs the opening with
fin© castings and enlarges a couple of inches of the interior of the burrow by gnaw-
ing off its sides a quantity of coarse fiber, in which it lies, after turning its head to
the entrance. When about to become pupa (I witnessed the process) the skin rup-
tures on the dorsum of three or four segmeuts next the head ; the head of the pupa
appears, and after about half an hour's wriggling the whole body is divested of its
covering. To the observer the pupa appears to crawl out of the skiu, but in fact the
skin with the large mandibles is forced backwards by the alternate extension and con-
traction of the segments, assisted materially by the fiber that surrounds it. After
its soft body hardens the same movements free it from the fiber, some being shoved
in advance of the head, and some posteriorly, the exuviae being often found at the
distal end of the hole. The time spent in the pupal state is indefinite and does not
seem to concern greatly the time of the appearance of the beetle. Sticks split open
at different periods from December till March contained larvae and pupae about equally,
but no developed beetles. A larva that I observed go into the wood in April appeared
as a beetle among the first of such as had presumably pupated in the fall.
The number of these beetles obtained that and the present season was great and
afforded a good opportunity to observe individual variations, and they do differ
greatly. In length from 8 to 18mm ; in pubescence, some being nearly naked and uni-
colored, others having it longer and condensed into spots or almost vittate ; some
being quite slender and elongate, while others are short and broad. The surface of
the elytra is mostly uniform, but in some, especially such as are narrow and elon-
gated, one or two costaB are more or less evident.
Now, although this account differs so widely from that given by Mr. Fitch, still
the beetles are the same. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find any pruned
oak limbs from which to obtain the insects myself, but I have a good set from Mr.
Blanchard, of Massachusetts, presumably from the oak, which are identical. Through,
the kindness of Mr. F. Clarkson, I have a set of those described by him in the Can.
Ent., vol. 17, p. 188, from oak limbs, and which became imagoes in November, and
there is no perceptible difference. Dr. George H. Horn says, " They are the same."
To identify Elaphidion parallelum had always been a puzzle to me, and I once thought
I had a real set ; I obtained it about a dozen times by exchange, but could never be-
satisfied that the specimens received were not pauperized or peculiar individuals of
E. villosum. On comparing my hickory insects with all the descriptions of E. villosum
and parallelum and their several synonyms, as far as I possess them, it was easy to
pick out sets that would answer satisfactorily all their requirements, and I became
satisfied that E. parallelum could not be separated.
29. Elaphidion parallelum Newman.
(Larva, PI. xvn, Fig. 1.)
This borer, according to Riley, infests the oak, and Mr. Tyler Town-
send, of Washington, D. C, has found it to be the common oak pruner
of the vicinity of Constantine, Mich., while it also is common in hickory.*
*Dr. Horn has, in a letter to Dr. Hamilton (Can. Ent., Aug., 1887), stated that
Elaphidion villosum and parallelum " are inseparable." It is, however, too late, since
this note is added in the galley proof, to combine the accounts of the latter so-called
species with that of E. villosum.
90
[FTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
It becomes a papa either in the autumn or spring. (Can. Ent., xviii, 13,
188().) In the absence of the larva of any
other species of this or an allied genus, for
comparison, we have compared the larva
with that of Xylotreehut colon us.
Beetle. — Brown, punctured, covered with aD ashy
woolly pabesoenoe; elongated linear; anteuuie
scarcely shorter than the body ; second and third
joints with a terminal spine; elytra parallel, trun-
cated at the apex and armed with a spine at each
angle, the outer spine rather long and incurved.
Length .55 inch. (Le Conte.)
Larva. — The body very closely resembles A', colon it a t
Fig. S2.—Elaphidum parallelum. but is larger and broader, especially on segments? to
(Alter Smith.) . .,,.., „,
9, but in general appearance is closely similar. Pro-
thoracic segment scarcely wider than the mesothoracic, but not so much swollen as iu
Xylotrechus. The disk is regularly transversely oblong, the sides not convex but
straight, the edges in front and on the sides brown. The disk is one-half as long as
broad ; posterior half free from hairs, not so distinctly marked as in X. colonus, but the
longitudinal irregular pale streaks are present. The mesothoracic and metathoracic
segments are as wide as the prothoracic, but the mesothoracic is a little shorter than
the metathoracic. The mesothoracic segment is divided into two lateral portions by a
scutel-like, very short and broad callosity which is narrow, lanceolate-oval. The
metathoracic segment has a similar callosity, but a transverse fleshy ridge is present,
not fouud on the mesothoracic segment. Beneath is a callous brown spot incised in
the middle, longer and narrower than those on the six succeeding segments. That
on the prothoracic is much shorter and narrower thau on the mesothoracic, the latter
not divided raesially, where those on the metathoracic and three succeeding segments
are partly divided by the median line of the body, forming two irregular oval patches
touching the median line of the body, and with the outer, hinder edge produced a
little posteriorly. On the first abdominal segment is a transverse, short but very
wide crescent-shaped callosity with swollen margins; on the succeeding segments
these become longer and narrower, until on the fourth segment they become one-half
as long as broad; on the hinder segments (5 to 7) they become still longer and trans-
versely oblong-oval, with irregular broad thickened patches. Beneath, on the seg-
ments behind the fourth, the callosities disappear, but there are raised smooth oval
areas. A pair of thoracic feet on each of the three segments; they are three-jointed,
basal joint membranous; second joint about three-fourths as long as wide; third
joint about two-thirds as wide as the secoud, and slightly longer. The ninth ab-
dominal segment but little narrower than the eighth; the tenth about one-third as
wide as the ninth. A pair of mesothoracic spiracles and eight abdominal pairs.
Head not quite so large in proportion as in X. colonus. Labruru small, not quite so
broad as in X. colonus, convex and well rounded in front, and very hairy. Mandibles
black.
Antennae four-jointed, first joint apparently divided into two subsegments; third
a little longer and narrower than the second; the fourth minute, obtuse, one-half as
long as the third is wide. Maxilla? with the lobe rather small, reaching to near the
end of the third joint of the palpus. Maxillary palpi four-jointed, second joint
slightly shorter and narrower than the first; fourth half as thick as the third and
pointed at the tip. Labium with the mentum nearly square, narrower than the sub-
ineutum. The ligula, which is very small iu X. colonus, is here entirely wanting.
OAK-BORERS. 91
30. Elaphidion atomarium (Drury).
According to Mr. Schwarz, this species and E mucronatum bore in
dry twigs of Quercus virens in Florida. (Riley in American Entomol-
ogist, iii, 239.)
Beetle.— Head brownish black, covered with snort yellowish-gray pile. Thorax
dirty black, covered with yellow-gray pile ; cylindrical, and without any spines or
eminences. Antennae dusky brown ; having a spine on each joint, except that next
the head, and about the length of the insect. Scutellum very small. Elytra black,
mottled with yellow-gray, being margined at the sides and suture and not reaching
or covering the anus, each having two spines at the extremity. Abdomen and breast
grayish brown, as are the legs, each of which is furnished with a spine at the tip of
the tibiae.
31. Elaphidion mucronatum (Say).
This species was found in company with the preceding by Mr. Schwarz.
Beetle. — Brown, with ashy hairs ; antennae three or four spined ; thighs mucronate ;
«lytra bidentate ; body reddish brown, partially covered with short, prostrate cine-
reous hairs, unequally distributed. Antennae longer than the body ; joints 3 to 6,
ending in a spine ; scutellum white, with dense hair divided into two lobes ; elytra
punctured ; the hairs so disposed as to give the surface an irregularly spotted appear-
ance; tip bispinose; intermediate and posterior thighs bimucronate, the inner spine
longest. Length seven- twentieths of an inch. (Say.)
32. Acanthoderes 4-gibbus Say.
In this longicorn, which according to Mr. Schwarz bores in the twigs, the scape ot
the antennae becomes thicker towards the tip, and is shorter than the third joint;
the prothorax is armed with dorsal tubercles, with a large lateral spine. The eyes
are less coarsely granulated than in the other species. " Body dark brownish ; an-
tennae hardly longer than the body, blackish ; head before sparingly punctured ;
labrum dull honey-yellow ; thorax with distant punctures ; four tubercles nearly in
a transverse line, and a longitudinal, elevated line; elytra quadrigibbous at base;
inner gibbosity extended with a longitudinal elevated line ; numerous distant deep
punctures; a dilated, waved ashen spot before the middle; a sutural series of alter-
nate square small brown and cinereous spots nearly opposite ; tip emarginate ; thighs
•clavate. Length less than three-fifths of an inch." (Say.)
33. Leptura zebra Olivier.
The larva and pupa inhabit the black oak. (Dr. Horn.)
34. Tragidion fulvipenne Say.
According to Riley, this longicorn bores in the oak. (Am. Ent.,iii, 239.)
Beetle. — Body deep black, covered with dense black hair; antennae rather longer
than the body, somewhat hairy ; palpi glabrous, deep reddish brown; thorax above,
with four obsolete tubercles and an intermediate, abbreviated, glabrous, longitudinal
line; a slightly prominent lateral spine; scutel hairy, black; elytra yellowish- ful-
vous, covered with dense, very short prostrate hair ; four longitudinal slightly ele-
vated lines. Length three-fifths inch. (Say.)
92
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Fig. 33.— Tragidion ml vipenne.— Smith and Marx del.
35. Bo8trichu8 bicornw Weber.
Order Coleoptera ; Family Ptinid^e.
Mr. A. S. McBride records finding this beetle under the dead bark of
white oak posts in August, and he thinks the larva bores in the wood.
(Can. Ent., xii, 107, June, 1880.)
Beetle. — Body blackish-brown varied with cine-
reous; with robust, scale-like hairs; head equal;
eyes prominent, reddish brown ; antenna? and palpi
ferruginous; labrum fulvous; thorax declivous
before and behind ; anterior half and lateral mar-
gin armed with numerous short spines ; anterior
angles projected over the head in the form of par-
allel horns ; posterior angles elongated backward
in the form of tubercles ; two hardly elevated tuber-
cles on the middle of the base ; scutel rounded,
cinereous ; elytra, each with two elevated lines, of
which the inner one is the more prominent and acute, with the blackish-brown and
cinereous colors somewhat alternate ; tip near the sutural termination mucronate or
only angulated ; beneath dark reddish-brown.
Length, two-fifths of an inch. (Say.)
Fig. 34. — Bostrichus bicomis.
Smith del.
36. Xyleborw cehus Eichhoff.
Order Coleoptera; Family Scolytid.e.
This species belongs to that section of the genus, according to Le
Conte, in which the body is elongate, cylindrical; the declivity of the
elytra oblique, frequently retuse or excavated ; the funicle of the antennae
with five distinct joints; tibiae rounded at tip and usually finely serrate.
Beetle. — Two lines long. Ferruginous, clothed with yellow hair; elytra obliquely
sloping behind, perfectly flat, smooth, with two larger acute, pointed, tubercles each
side near the suture, .and near the edge of the declivity, with many smaller acute ele-
vations. It differs from X.pyri by its much more elongate form, the prothorax being
about one-half longer than wide, with the sides parallel behind the middle and the
elytra much more than one-half longer than the thorax. (Le Conte.)
OAK BARK-BEETLES. 93
37. Xyleborus fuscatus Eichhorn.
Beetle. — Length, 1 to 1£ lines. Ferruginous brown, or yellow, thinly clothed with
gray hair, with the same form and sculpture as X. monographus, but somewhat smaller,
and distinguished by the oblique declivity of the elytra being marked by only a
single, large, acute tubercle, while the suture itself is also distinctly elevated. (Le
Conte.)
38. Xyleborus reiusicollis Zimmermann.
Beetle. — Length, 1 line. Rust-yellow ; front smooth, with a deep longitudinal
impression ; prothorax longer than wide, a little broader than the elytra, punctured
in front ; thinly pubescent and very deeply excavated ; the front margin rising into
an acute point ; behind nearly glabrous and smooth. Elytra short, punctured with-
out order, thinly pubescent, obliquely declivous behind, and somewhat impressed
along the suture. Maryland, found under oak-bark. (Le Conte.)
39. Pityophthorus pubipennis Lee.
Order Coleoptera ; Family Scolytid^e.
Mr. Ricksecker remarks concerning the habits of this bark borer on
the Pacific coast:
I have seen great swarms of Pityophthorus pubipennis Lee. in the branches of
newly felled live oaks, and have taken the same or an allied species from sticks of
oak that had previously been peeled for tan-bark. (Ent. Amer., i, 97.)
Beetle. — Club of antennae distinctly annulated and pubescent on both sides, not
fringed with long hair. Fore tibiae moderately serrate; fore tarsi with joints 1 to 3
stout, fifth longer than the others united.
Male bead deeply concave; edge of the concavity fringed with long silky hairs.
Female head shining, sparsely hairy, punctured with an interocular tubercle; the
longer hairs of the elytra ( which are finely punctulate) are arranged in rows. (Le Conte
and Horn.)
40. Pityophthorus querciperda Schwarz.
Mr. Schwarz has observed the habits of this Scolytid beetle, and also
described the beetle in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of
Washington (i, 56), stating that it occurs from New York to Florida.
On page 162 of the same Proceedings Mr. John D. Sherman records
finding some sixty or seventy specimens under the bark of a felled oak
tree at Peekskill, N. Y.
The galleries, which are partly in the bark and partly in the outermost layer of
the wood, are the primary galleries — i. e., those made by the parent beetle — and ex-
hibited a feature hitherto not observed in any other Scolytid. The female beetle
bores straight through the bark; then follows a very short gallery vertically down-
ward, and this is crossed immediately below the entrance hole by an extremely long
transverse gallery. The novelty consists in the short vertical gallery, which, evi-
dently, is constructed only for the purpose of enabling the beetle to turn around
without getting on the outside of the tree. The larval galleries, if there be any, are
not yet known. (Schwarz.)
Beetle. — This new species belongs to Le Conte's group B, and may be called Pityoph-
thorus querciperda. It is closely allied to P. minulissimus, with which it agrees in
size, f'jrm, and coloration, but from which it differs in the sculpture and pubescence
of the elytra. In minutissimus the elytra are finely and rather indistinctly punctu-
late ; the pubescence is fine, very sparse or nearly absent on the basal portion of the
elytra and denser on the declivity, but always hair-like. In querciperda the elytra
are quite distinctly rugosely punctulate, and, therefore, less shining. The pubescence
94
FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
i> stont, moderately dense on the anterior part of the elytra and still denser and scale-
like on tin* declivity. In the two California D speciesof the same group the pubescence
consists of long and short hair intermixed. P. querciperda occurs from New York to
Florida. (Schwarz.)
41. Monavthrum mali (Fitch).
Mr. Sohwarg has observed this Scolytid while at work in pieces of
the red oak at Washington, D. C. It was tirst observed by Fitch at-
tacking the apple tree in New York. It ranges from Lake Superior to
Florida. (Le (Jonte.)
The parent beetle bores through the bark straight into the wood to a distance of
from 5 to 7mm. Then follows a transverse gallery and, in most cases, a second trans-
verse gallery immediately behind the first; in several instances there is still a third
gallery. The secondary burrows, in which the larva; undergo their transformations,
and which, in all probability, are made by the larva', start rectangularly upward or
downward from the transverse galleries and are but little longer than the beetle.
Oviposition in this species has not yet been observed, and it remains, also, uncertain
whether ouly one or several beetles have been at work when there are two or three
transverse galleries present. (Schwarz, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., i, 44, 48.)
Beetle. — In this genus the body is long and cylindrical; the scape cf the antennas
long and slender; the fuuicle of but one short joint, the others being absorbed in the
club, which is rounded and very much compressed ; elytra elongate, nearly perpen-
dicularly declivous behind, and pubescent on the declivity; feebly punctured in
rows. M. mali is small brown, elytra not hairy at tip.
Male: Club of antenna? with a long apical spine and a few hairs; declivity of
elytra oblique, not refuse at the sides, acutely margined only at the apex and for a
short distance behind; face of declivity with a slight reniform elevation rising into
two cusps near the suture, which is deeply impressed and excavated at that place;
head flat, opaque, not fringed with hair.
Female: Club of antennae without apical spine ; declivity of elytra as in male, but
with the reniform elevation and its two cusps much stronger ; head slightly convex,
subopaque, feebly punctured.
Lake Superior to Florida; depredates on apple trees. Length, 2mm (.08 inch).
(Le Conte.)
42. Ithycerus noveboraceiws (Forster).
According to Riley this weevil in-
fests the oak, having been seen bor-
ing into the twigs of the burr-oak;
the larva is of the usual eurcnlioni-
form appearance. The female first
makes a small longitudinal excava-
tion with her jaws, eating upward
toward the end of the branch, then
turns round and thrusts her egg into
it. She was observed in the act by-
Mr. Charles Peabody. (Riley's un-
published notes.)
Beetle.- This is our largest species of weevil,
and may be recognized by its great size, by
its broad, large snont, its ash color, and by
the, eight pale lines on the wing-covers, inter-
rupted by four or five distinct black squarish spots. Length. IS"*
Fig. 35. Ithycerus noveboracen»is. Smith del.
THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA. 95
43. The seventeen- year Cicada.
Cicada septendecira luinu.
Order Hemiptera ; Family Cicadarle.
Stinging the terminal twigs of the oak and other forest trees and of various fruit
trees, the seventeen-year locust, which deposits its long slender eggs in a hrokeu line
along the twig.
Without attempting to recapitulate the history of this famous insect,
we would only say that the eggs are deposited from the end of May
through June (Fig. 36, d, e) in pairs in the terminal twigs of the oak, etc.
The larva3 (Fig. 36,/) hatch out in about six weeks after they are depos-
ited, and drop to the ground, in which they live, sucking the roots of
trees, etc., for nearly seventeen years, the pupa state (Fig. 36, a, b) last-
ing but a few days.
The following remarks on the habits of this insect are taken from our
Third Report on the Injurious Insects of Massachusetts:
As regards the kinds of trees stung by the Cicada, I may quote from a communication
from William Kite, in the American Naturalist, vol. ii, p. 442, as confirming and add-
ing somewhat to Dr. Harris's statements: " Seeing in the July number of the Naturalist
a request for twigs of oak which had been stung by the so-called seventeen-year
locust, I take the liberty of sending you twigs from eleven different varieties of trees
in which the females have deposited their eggs. I do this to show that the insect
seems indifferent to the kind of wood made use of as a depository for her eggs. These
were gathered July 1, in about an hour's time, on the south hills of the ' Great Chester
Valley,' Chester County, Pa. No doubt the number of trees and bushes might be
much increased. The female, in depositing her eggs, seems to prefer well-matured
wood, rejecting the growing branch of this year, and using the last year's wood and
frequently that of the year before, as some of the twigs inclosed will show. An or-
chard which I visited was so badly ' stung' that the apple trees will be seriously in-
jured and the peach trees will hardly survive their treatment. Instinct did not seem
to cantiou the animal against using improper depositories, as I found many cherry
trees had been used by them, thegnm exuding from the wounds, in that case sealing
the eggs in beyond escape.
"The males have begun to die, and are found in numbers under the trees; the
females are yet busy with their peculiar office. The length of wood perforated on
each branch varied from one to two and a half feet, averaging probably eighteen
inches ; these seemed to be the work of one insect on each twig, showing a wonderful
fecundity.
"The recurrence of three 'locust years' is well remembered in this locality — 1834>
1851, and 1868. There has been no variation from the usual time, establishing the
regularity of their periodical appearance."
A 6 regards the time and mode of hatching, Mr. S. S. Rath von, of Lancaster, Pa., con-
tributes to the same journal some new and valuable facts, which we quote: " With
reference to the eggs aud youug of the seventeen-year Cicada, your correspondent from
Haverford College, Philadelphia, is uot the only one who has failed to produce the
young by keeping branches containing eggs in their studios. I so failed in 1834 and
1851, and indeed I have never heard that any oue has succeeded in that way who has
kept them for any great length of time. In the brood of 1868 the first Cicadas appeared
here in a body, on the evening of the second day of June. The first pair in coitu I ob-
served on the 2lst, and the first female depositing on the 26th of the same month.
The first young were excluded on the 5th of August. All these dates are some ten
days later than corresponding observations made by myself and others in former years.
9G FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
On the 15th of July, 1 cutoff some apple, pear, and chestnut twigs containing eggs,
and stuck the cuds into a buttle containing water, and set it in a broad, shallow dish
also filled with water, the whole remaining out of doors exposed to the weather, what-
ever it might be. The young continued to drop out on the water in the dish for a full
week, after the date above mentioned. I could breed no Cicadas from branches that
were dead and on which the leaves were withered, nor from those that from any oanse
had fallen to the ground, and this was also the case with Mr. Vincent Bernard, of
Kennet Square, Chester County, Pa. After the precise time was known, fresh branches
were obtained, and then the young Cicadas were seen coming forth in great numbers
by half a dozen observers in this county. As the fruitful eggs were at least a third
larger that) they were when first deposited, I infer that they require the moisture con-
tained in living wood to preserve their vitality. When the proper time arrives and
the proper conditions are preserved, they are easily bred, and indeed I have seen them
evolve on the palm of my hand. The eyes of the young Cicadas are seen through the
egg-skin before it is broken."
Mr. Riley, in an interesting account of this Cicada in his First Annual Report on
Noxious, Beneficial, and Other Insects of Missouri for 1869, has shown that in the
Southern States thirteen-year broods of this insect are found. He remarks : " It was
my good fortune to observe that besides the seventeen-year broods, the appearance of
one of which was recorded as long ago as 1633, there are also thirteen-year broods,
and that, though both sometimes occur in the same States, yet, in general terms, the
seventeen-year broods may be said to belong to the Northern and the thirteen year
broods to the Southern States, the dividiug line beiug about latitude 38°, though in
some places the seventeen-year brood extends below this line, while in Illinois the
thirteen-year brood runs up considerably beyond it. It was also exceedingly grati-
fying to find, four months after I had published this fact, that the same discovery
had been made years before by Dr. Smith, though it had never been given to the
world."
Mr. Riley predicts that in southern New England a brood will appear in 1877 and
1885. Probably the Plymouth brood, which appeared in 1872, will not appear again
for seventeen years, namely, in 1889, the two broods noticed by Riley appearing west
of this town. As regards its appearance in Plymouth, Mass., Harris states that it
appeared there in 1633. The next date given is 1804, " but, if the exact period of
seventeen years had been observed, they should have returned in 1803."
Mr. B. M. Watson informs me, from his personal observation, that it also appeared
in 1838, 1855, and 1872. In Sandwich it appeared in 1787, 1804, and 1821. In Fall
River it appeared in 1834, in Hadley in 1818, in Bristol County in 1784, so that, as re-
marked by Harris and others, it appears at different years in places not far from each
other. Thus, while in Plymouth and Sandwich we may look for its re-appearance
in 1839, in Fall River it will come in 1885, or four years earlier.
There are three species of Cicada in the Northern States, and, in order that they
may not be confounded in studying the times of appearance of the different broods of
the seventeen-year species, I add a short description of each form, so that they may
be readily recognized in the winged and immature states.
The two larger species are the seventeen-year locust (Cicada septendecim) and the
dog-day cicada (C. pruinosa). Fig. 36, copied from Riley's report, gives a good idea
of the former species: a represents the pupa, b the same after the adult has escaped
through the rent in the back, c the winged fly, d the holes in which the eggs, e, are in-
serted. Fig. 36, / represents the larva as soon as hatched. The adult may be known
by its rather narrow head, the black body, and bright red veins of the wings. The
wings expand from two and a half to three and a quarter inches.
The pupa is long aud narrow, and compared with that of C. pruinosa the head is
longer and narrower, the antennie considerably longer, the separate joints being
longer than those of the dog-day locust. The auterior thighs (femora) are very large
and swolleu, smaller than in C. pruinosa, though not quite so thick, with the basal
THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA.
97
spine shorter than in that species, while the snag or supplementary tooth is larger and
nearer the end; the next spine, the basal one of the series of five, is three times as
large as the next one, while in C. pruinosa it is of the same size, or, if anything,
smaller. The toe joint (tarsus) projects over two thirds of the length beyond the end
of the shank (tibia), while in the other species it only projects half its length. The
terminal segment of the body is rather larger than in C. pruinosa. The body is shin-
ing gum-color or honey-yellow, with the hinder edge of the abdominal segments
thickened, but no darker than the rest of the body. Length, one inch (.90 to 1.00);
width, about a third of an inch (.35), being rather smaller than that of C. pruinosa
and much larger than that of C. rimosa.
Fig. 36.— The seventeen-year Cicada (c) and pupa (a. b): d, position of eggs (e) ; /, larva. (After Riley.)
For a farther account of this Cicada the reader is referred to Prof.
Kiley's report of the U. S. Entomologist for 1885, and to Bulletin No. 8,
of the Division of Entomolosry, which contain fall information regard-
ing the differeut broods which appear in different years. From his
observations it appears that the development of the larva is extremely
slow, and when six years old it hardly attains one-fourth its full size.
Moulting also takes place more than once a year, so that there are prob-
ably twenty-five or thirty changes of skin in all. Riley, also, has rarely
found it more thau two feet below the surface during the first six or
seven years of its life, and almost invariably iu an oval cell, and more
often away from roots than near them. Yet it can descend to great
depths, one writer stating that he had found it 20 feet below the sur-
face. "As the time approaches for the issuing of the pupa it gradually
rises nearer and nearer to the surface, and, for a year or two before the
appearance of any given brood, this pupa may be dug up within one or
two feet of the surface."
5 ent 7
98 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
44. The WHITE-LINED TREE hopper.
Thelia univittata Harris.
Order Hemip i Hi ; family Mkmhracid.E.
Common upon oak limbs ami twigs, puncturing them and Booking their juices.
This tree hopper is found on the oak in July. It is about four-tenths
of an inch in length : the thorax is brown, has a short, obtuse horn ex-
tending obliquely upwards from in front, and there is a white line on
the back extending from the top of the horn to the hinder extremity*
| Harris.)
4.">. '1 BE OAK BLIGHT.
Erio8oma querd Fitch.
Order Hemipteha ; family Aphidid^e.
A species of blight, or a woolly aphis upon oak limbs, puncturing them and exhaust-
ing them of their sap.
This blight is very like a similar insect upon the basswood. The
winged individuals are black throughout, and slightly dusted over with
an ash-gray powder resembling mold. The fore wings are clear and
glassy, with their stigma-spot dusky and feebly transparent, their rib-
vein black, and their third oblique vein abortive nearly or quite to the
fork. It is .16 long to the tips of its wings. (Fitch.)
46. The white oak scale-insect.
Lecanium quercifex Fitch.
Order Hemiptera ; family Coccid.e.
Adhering to the smooth bark of the limbs of the white oak, in June, an oval, con-
vex, brownish-black scale, about .30 inch long and .18 wide, its margin paler and
dull yellowish. (Fitch.)
47. The quercitron scale-insect.
Lecanium quercitronis Fitch.
Order Hemiptera ; family Coccid^e.
On the small limbs of the black oak; a scale like the preceding but smaller, and of
a nearly hemispherical form; its color varying from brownish-black to dull reddish
and pale, dull yellow, with a more or less distinct stripe of paler yellow along the
middle of its back, aud the paler individuals usually mottled with black spots or
stripes. Length, .20; width. .16 inch. (Fitch.)
These scales are parasitized by Platygaster lecanii (Fitch)
48. The black scale of California.
Lecanium olew Bernard.
The black scale is stated by Signoret to be properly in France an
olive scale, sometimes, however, becomiug so common as to occur on all
neighboring plants also. In California we find it infesting the greatest
variety of plants and becoming a very serious enemy to orange and
other citrus trees. I have found it at Los Angeles on orange and all
OAK SCALE-INSECTS. 99
other citrus plants, ou olive, pear, apricot, plum, pomegranate, Oregon
asb, bitter-sweet, apple, eucalyptus, sabal palm, California coffee, rose,
cape jessamine, Habrothmus elegans / and elsewhere upon an Australian
plant known as Brachceton, and also upon a heath. It preferably attacks
the smaller twigs of these plants, and the young usually settle upon the
leaves.
The development of this species is very slow, and it seems probable
that there is only one brood in a year. Specimens observed by Mr.
Alexander Craw at Los Angeles, which hatched in June or July, began
to show the characteristic ridges only in November. Mr. Craw has
seen the lice, even when quite well grown, move from twigs which had
become dry and take up their quarters on fresh ones.
Although carefully looked for, the males, like those of so many other
Lecanides, have never been found.
A dark-brown bark-louse has been sent me from Florida, on live oak,
holly, oleander, orange, and one or two unknown plants, by Dr. R. S.
Turner, of Fort George, which appears to be identical with Lecanium
olece. It is, however, by no means as abundant or injurious in that
State as in California.
Enormous quantities of the eggs of the black scales are destroyed by
the chalcid parasite Tomocera californica* described on p. 368 of this
report. Particulars as to the work of this parasite are given at the
same place. Upon oue occasion (August 25, 1880), I found within the
body of a full-grown female a lepidopterous larva, which was very similar
in appearance to the larvaB of the species of Ddkruma described in ray
last report as destroying bark-lice. The specimen, however, was lost,
and no more have been found since.
A number of beetles of the genus Latridius were found under scales
which had been punctured by the Tomocera, but probably would not
destroy the live insect. Many mites were found feeding upon the eggs
and young. The infested trees were also swarming with the different
species of lady bugs (Coccinellidce). (Comstock.)
Adult female. — Dark brown, nearly black in color; nearly hemispherical in formr
often, however, quite a little longer than bread; average leugth from 4mm to 5imn-
average height, 3mm. Dorsum with a median longitudinal carina and two transverse
cariuse, the latter dividing the body into three subequal portions; frequently the
longitudinal ridge is more prominent between the transverse ridges than elsewhere,
thus forming with them a raised surface of the form of a capital H- The body is
slightly margined ; outer part of the disk wiih many (18 to 30) small ridges which
extend from the margin half-way up to center of dorsum. Viewed with the micro-
scope, the skin is seen to be filled with oval or round cells, each with a clear nucleus,
the average size of the cells being from .05mm to .06mm in length, while the nuclei
average .02mm in diameter. The antenna are long and 8-jointed, the two basal joints
short ; joint 3 longest, joints 4 and 5 equal and shorter, joints 6 and 7 equal and still
shorter, joint 8 with a notched margin and almost as long as joint 3. Legs rather
"This parasite is now known as Dilophogaster californica Howard, Mr. Howard Sav-
ing changed the name Tomocera on account of its similarity to Tomocerus in Thysanura.
100 1 I II II REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
long and stout, the tibia- being about one-fifth Longer than the tarsi. The anal ring
Beema to bear six Long hairs.
The egg. — Long oval in shape, .4""" in Length, yellowish in color.
Xctclij hatched larva. — Then- is nothing very characteristic about the young larva-;
they are tlat and their antennae are only b-jointed. (Comstock'a Report for 1880,
p. 336.)
vj. The oak cukkmes.
Chermes ap.
(Plate XXVIII, Pig. 1.)
The following characterization of this genus is taken from Signoivt :
Body perfectly globular or with a slight incision for insertion on thetwigor branch.
On an external examination no trace of antenna-, legs, or even mouth parts is to be
observed, and the insect presents precisely the appearance of a gall. .
In the larva', however, the true characters of the Cocciuaj are seen — ruultiarticu-
late lower lip and the absence of the anal plates. The larval characters an- the one-,
which have been principally used in the description of species, as they are ea
find. They (the larva») are long, oval, the abdomen plainly segmented and deeply
cleft at the extremity, except in C. vermilio and C. ballotce. Upon each segment
there are several spines at the lateral edge and several hairs upon each disk. The
lateral lobes have each a bundle of spines and a very long hair. Antennas 6-jointed,
joint 3 longest. With all the legs the tibia} are shorter than the tarsi. With the
adult the antennae and legs appear natural ; but in very old individuals, which have
secreted the horny covering, the autenme are still present, but deformed; so also
with the legs, but the latter are sometimes entirely wanting.
The males resemble those of other Coccime, and are inclosed in a little white felt-
like sac. Head globular, with four eyes and six ocelli in C. bauhinii i the only species
observed by Signoret). The antenna' are very long, joint 3 longest, joint 10 shortest,
and carrying several hairs with buttoned tips. Wings long. Abdomeu long, with a
short genital armature and two long bristles each side. Legs long, the tibiae longer
than the tarsi, the latter with a long claw and the four ordinary digitules.
There are in the collection of the Department several specie? belong-
ing to this genus, which we have collected in Florida, Alabama, Lou-
isiana, California, New York, and District of Columbia. For want of
time I am unable to characterize these now. The species represented
on Plate xxvni, fig. 1, occurs on Quercus in California. The only
North American species which has been described is Kermes ga Uifo rmis
Riley, described in the Americau Naturalist, vol. xv. p. 482 (June,
1881). (Couistock, U. S. Agricultural Report, 1880, 337.)
50. Chermes galliformis Riley.
" Received from H. H. Rusby, Silver City, N. Mex., the almost glob-
ular scales of a coccid from the same oak as the preceding [Quercus
emoryi). They are shining, very indirectly sculptured, white, beauti-
fully variegated with yellowish-gray and black. The white ground color
is especially noticeable in longitudinal stripes. These scales occur either
singly or in clusters — the largest containing about eight — around the
twig. They contained nothing but eggshells when received.
These scales were infested with the larva of a Lepidopteron appar-
ently belonging to Dakruma, which issued in April, 1881." (Riley's
unpublished notes.)
OAK SCALE-INSECTS. 101
51. The obscure scale insect.
Aspidiotus obscurus Comstock.
This scale insect was found by Professor Comstock on the leaves of
the willow oak. The following account is copied from his report in the
U. S. Agricultural Report for 1880:
Scale of female.— The scale of the female is very dark gray, agreeing in color with
the bark to which it is attached ; and as it is only slightly convex, its presence is
difficult to detect. It is somewhat irregular in outline, but nearly circular. The
exuviae are between the center and one side ; their position is indicated by a nipple-
like prominence, which is marked, as in many other species, with a white dot and
concentric ring of the same color. The ventral scale consists of a delicate film of
white excretion, and the lower half of the exuviae attached to the bark. Diameter
of scale, 3mir (.12 inch).
Female. — The body of the full-grown female is reniform, being only four-fifths as
long as wide and having the lobes of the penultimate segment extending back
nearly as far as the end of the body. The segmentation of the body is very indistinct ;
the color is a yellowish brown. The last segment presents the following characters
(Plate xii, Fig. 4) :
There are five groups of spinnerets ; the median consists of about six, the superior
lateral of about twelve, and the inferior lateral of about eight. The oval pores
opening on the dorsal side of the body are to be seen very distinctly from below.
There are three pairs of well developed lobes. The first lobe of each side is conical,
tapering anteriorly, and with the distal margin rounded ; there is often a small
notch on the lateral side. The distal margins of the second and third lobes are ser-
rate.
The thickened part of the lateral margin of the segmeut becomes narrower ante-
riorly until near the penultimate segment it is a mere line. It is irregularly notched
and is terminated posteriorly by a prominent lobe.
There are seven short club-shaped thickenings of the body wall upon each side of
the meson. Each thickening is rounded anteriorly and tapers posteriorly. They are
situated as follows : one terminating near the lateral margin of the first lobe, one at
each side of second lobe, one midway between second and third lobes, one at each
side of third lobe, and one near the posterior end of the thickened lateral margin.
This one is often obsolete. Those terminating at the median sides of the second and
third lobes are narrower and shorter, and have their anterior ends directed laterad
more than the others. The remaining thickenings are of about the same length as the ■
median lobes.
The plates are inconspicuous, and in no case extend as far as the lobes. There is
one between the median lobes, one between the first and second lobe of each side, two
between the second and third lobes, and two between the third lobe and the poste-
rior end of the thickened lateral margin. The last two are unequally bifid, the other
four are simple and* truncate.
On the ventral side the first pair of spines is obsolete, the second and third pores
are situated at the base of the lateral margins of their respective lobes, the fourth pair
is just laterad of the lobe of the lateral margin, and a fifth pair is situated about one-
third the distance from this lobe to the penultimate segment. On the dorsal side the
first pair is also obsolete ; each member of the other four pairs is situated in little
mesad of the corresponding spine on the ventral surface.
Egg. — The eggs have not been observed, and several specimens of females in the
collection indicate that the species is viviparous.
Scale of male. — The scale of the male is oval in outline with the protuberance cov-
102 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
ering the larval skin near the anterior end. This scale is of the same color as that of
the female.
Length, a little more than lmm (.04 inch) ; breadth nearly £mm (.02 inch).
Habitat.— Oil the bark of the limbs of willow oak (Quercus phellos) at Washington,
D. C.
Described from forty females and very many scales of each sex.
The scale of this species resembles very much that of Aspidiotus tenehricosus which
occurs on red maple. That scale, however, is much more convex than this one, and
its diameter is only one-half as -real.
52. A8terodia8pi8 quercicola (Boucbe').
(Plate xx vin, Fig. 4.)
The females of this genus resemble those of Asterolecanium Targ.-
Tozz. Around the lateral edge and upon the dorsum are spinnerets,
which secrete a fringe which persists upon the sides but which upon the
back melts down and forms a continuous whole, which constitutes in
the old individuals a hard and consistent shield, slightly iridescent,
which covers the whole insect. When the females have deposited their
eggs the body shrinks up into the cephalic end of the covering so that
there appears to be only a sac inclosing the eggs, which one would nat-
urally take to be the body of the female. The male scale is of a long
oval, with a weak median carina, and showing under the microscope
an elegant fringe around the edge similar to that of the female scale.
(Comstock, 1880.)
Adult female. — Of a dark brown or a clear yellow color, nearly round in outline, fur-
nished at the anal extremity with a rounded lobule and above with transverse
strke, which represent the abdominal segmentation. Diameter from lmm to 2mm.
The skin is covered with quite a large number of tubular spinnerets. The circum-
ference of the body is ciliated witbja fine radiating fringe secreted by openings upon
the edge of the body. This fringe is double, formed of a row of large tubes joined
together two by two, secreted by double openings, and another row, smaller, secreted
by smaller openings placed below the others.
These insects are very closely applied to the bark, forming for themselves, in fact
slight depressions, so that it is very difficult to lift them. Occasionally, however,
one of the yellow scales (in which the body of the insect has shrunken up to the end)
is slightly elevated a$ one side, perhaps to allow for the exit of the young. On lift-
ing one of the scales there remain upon the bark floury marks corresponding to the
stigmata.
Male— The male scale is of a long oval, lninl in length by .6mm in width ; of a clear
brilliant yellow with a weak median carina, and with a fringe similar to that of the
female.
The male is brownish yellow upon the head and thorax, and of a clearer yellow
upon the abdomen, the base of which is a little darker ; the antenme and legs almost
black, the prothorax and mesothorax darker than the rest, the transverse band of the
metathorax perfectly black, as well as the eyes. The wings are large and of a trans-
parent whitish gray. The abdomen is large and rounded; the stylet is dark yellow
and .35°"" long.
Habitat. — Upou the imported oaks on the Department of Agriculture grounds at
Washington. Only the females were found and the male description is taken from
Signoret. The species is not a common one in Europe, but is occasionally quite de-
structive to au individual tree. (Comstock, 1880.)
,
OAK SCALE-INSECTS. 103
53. Rhizococcus quercus Comst.
(Plate xxix, Fig. 2.)
The following account of this scale insect is by Professor Comstock
(Agricultural Report, 1880) :
Female. — The tubular spiuueret9 are more numerous thau iu R. araucaria, and are
not confined to the margin of the body, but are distributed irregularly over the dor-
sum. They vary much in size and are curved and acuminate (Fig. 2a). Tarsi less
than one-half as long as tibiae. Hair on. trochanter nearly as long as femur.
Male. — I have only one specimen, which is much shriveled; this resembles R.
araucarice, except that the ocelli are placed farther caudad of the eyes than in that
species.
Described from 17 females, 1 male, and very many larvae, all mounted in balsam.
Habitat. — On scrub oak at Rock Ledge, Fla. ; upon gall-berry, oak, and grass at
Fort George, Fla. (Dr. R. S. Turner). The sacs (Fig. 2) of this species, ofVhich I
have very many specimens, very closely resemble those of R. araucarice. The sacs of
the female are all large, indicating that the species is naked till full grown.
The following observations are from Prof. Riley's MS. notes:
Specimens of this coccid were received March 29, 1882, from A. Koebele, Archer,
Fla., infesting both the trunk and twigs of live oak. Males were just issuing in con-
siderable numbers when received. Their color is reddish, eyes black, antennae and
legs paler red, thoracic band black. Wings faintly yellowish, somewhat iridescent,
with the veins slightly darker. The whole insect is covered with a delicate whitish
layer of a mealy excretion. The white anal filaments are louger than the whole
insect, including the antennae. The young females are dull greenish yellow. The
old females are purplish, and the eggs pale purplish. Some of the scales were in-
fested by Dakruma coccidivora, and others by the larvae of a Scymnus which were
feeding on the eggs.
The following observations, which relate to this or an allied species,
are also copied from Prof. Riley's MS. notes :
March 1, 1830, received from Dr. J. H. Mellichamp, of Bluffton, S. C, some twigs
of Quercus myrtifolia infested by a coccid. The scales are white and have a silky ap-
pearance ; they are mostly oblong-oval in form, but sometimes shorter. . The eggs
under these scales are regularly oval, whitish pink in color, opaque, semi-transparent,
without visible sculpture, and held together by short, interwoven threads that some-
what resemble cottou batting. The scales are found in clusters at the base of the
more slender twigs, others single, while a few stray to the leaves. One cluster of
these scales was infested by a lepidopterous larva about two-thirds of an inch in
length and of a dirty greenish-gray color. This larva kept concealed under the
scales and wherever it pierced them it closed up the holes with a delicate web. It
spun for itself a silken cocoon, March 3, at the bottom of the jar and issued on April
19. The eggs of the coccid hatched from the 6th to 20th of March. All died.
54. Chionaspis quercus Comstock.
(Plate xxvm, Fig. 3.)
This scale insect, according to Professor Comstock (Ag. Rep. 18.80),-
lives on white oak (Quercus lobata) in San Fernando Valley, California.
104 FIFTH REPORT OP THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The females occur on the bark of the small limbs; the males upon the
leaven,
8oale of female.— The scale of the female is long, narrow at the anterior end, much
widened posteriorly, and <juite convex. The exnriae are brownish yellow ; the secre-
tion,of which the remainder of the scale is composed, is white; but all of my speci-
mens appear dark gray, being more orless covered with the hairs of the stem to which
the stale was attached, and with dust. Length of scale 2""" (.08 inch).
i\ inalt. — The last .segment of the female presents the following characters:
The anterior groupof tpinntrttx consists of about ten ; the anterior laterals of sev-
enteen to twenty, and the posterior laterals of ten to eighteen.
This species differs from all Diaspime known to me in having a single undivided
lobe on the meson ; this lobe is large and rounded distally. The second and third
lobes of each side are very small and are laterad of small incisions in the margin of
the segment. In each case there is a reniform thickening of the body wall bound-
ing each incision anteriorly. There is also asimilar incision with a rudimentary lobe
and reniform thickening of the body wall about midway between third lobe and
penultimate segment.
The plates are inconspicuous and spine-like; there are usually one or two laterad
of second ventral spine, two or three between third and fourth lobe, and usually five
between fourth lobe and penultimate segment. The penultimate and antepenultimate
segments bear six each; those on the latter are much expanded at the base.
The spines are long and conspicuous; those on the dorsal surface are situated as
follows: One on each side at the base of the lateral margin of median lobe, one
laterad of each of the second and third lobes, and a fourth one near the center of the
anterior group of plates. Those on the ventral surface are as follows : A short one
nearly ventrad of the first dorsal spine, a large one laterad of each of the second and
third dorsal spines, and a fourth one a little cephalad of the fourth dorsal spine.
Scale of the mole.— The scale of the male is snowy white, with the larval skin very
light yellow. The texture of the scale is quite loose and the carinas prominent;
length, 1.25mm (.05 inch).
Male. — The adult male is as yet unknown; many pupae were collected August 17,
1860. Specimens of these mounted in basaku are bright yellow in color, with eyes
purplish black. Fully grown male larvae in basalm are yellowish brown.
Described from four scales of the female, four females, hundreds of scales of the
male, and many male pupae and larvae.
Mr. W. H. Ashmead has kindly allowed me to reprint, with his addi-
tions and corrections, the following:
CATALOGUE OF NORTH AMERICAS' CYXIPID.E LIVING OX THE OAK.
( VXIPID-E.
Division I. — Psexid.e, or True Gall-makers.
BELONOCNEMA. Mayr.
55. treatae. Mayr. Die Gen. d. Gallenbw. Cynip. p. 16.
AMPHIBOLIPS, Keinhard.
56. spongifica, O. S. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, ii p. 244.
57. cocciniae, 0. 8. 1. c. p. 24*2.
58. nubilipennis, Harris (Cynips) Ins. Inj. Veg. p. 434: Fitch Rep. 2nd, No. 318.
OAK GALL-FLIES, 105
AMPHIBOLIPS, Beiuhard— Continued.
59. inanis, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. ante i, p. 61.
60. coelebs, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 61.
61. ilicifoliae, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. iii, p. 682.
62. formosa, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 679.
63. sculpta, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. ii, p. 324.
64. phellos, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, p. 70.
65. cinerea, Ashin. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. 1881, p. xix.
66. racemaria, Ashm. (Cynips) I. c. p. xxvi.
67. citriformis, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. p. xxviii.
68. fuliginosa, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. 1885, p. vii.
69. melanocera, Ashm. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xii, p. 299.
70. prunus, Walsh (Cynips) Am. Ent. i, p. 104.
ANDRICUS, Hartig.
S. G. CALLIRHYTIS Forster.
71. agrifoliae, Bass. (Cynips) Can. Ent. vol. xiii, p. 53.
72. suttoni, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 54.
73. californicus, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 51.
74. capsula, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 101.
75. conigerus, O. S. ( Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, ii, p. 251, vol. v, p. 358.
76. seminator, Harris (Cynips) Ins. Inj. Veg. p. 548; Fitch, Rep. 2d N. Y. State
Agr. Soc. p. 315.
77. similis, Bass. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, iii, p. 685.
78. futilis, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. pp. 63-64.
79. tumifica, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. v, p. 683.
80. scitula, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. iii, p. 683.
81. clavula, Bass. ( Cynips) 1. c. p. 685.
82. operator, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. ii, pp. 256-257.
83. palustris, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, p. 63.
84. nigrae, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, p. 66.
85. tuber, Fitch (Cynips) Rep. 2d N. Y. State Agr. Soc. p. 309; Bassett. Proc. Ent.
Soc. Phil, iii, p. 685.
86. modesta, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, p. 66.
87 notha, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 58.
88. podagrae, Walsh (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. iii, p. 492.
89. futilis, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, pp. 63-64.
90. papillatus, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 64.
91. quercifoliae, Ashm. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xii, p. 299.
S. G. ANDRICUS, Hartig.
92. tubicola, O. S. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. i, p. 60.
93. singularis, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. ii, p. 326; Walsh, vol. ii, p. 485.
94. osten sackenii, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 327.
95. ventricosus, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. iii, p. 681.
96. lana, Fitch (Cynips) Fifth Report, No. 316.
97. confluens, Harris (Cynips) Ins. Inj. Veg. p. 433; O. S. Proc. Ent. Soc. i, p. 57,
98. petiolicola, Bass. (Cynips) Proc. ii, p. 325.
99. fusiformis, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, p. 61.
100. flocci, Walsh (Cynips) 1. c. vol. iv, p. 482.
101. ignotus, Bass. (Cynips) Can. Ent. vol. xiii, p. 106.
102. cinerosus, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 110.
103. utriculus, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 78.
104. californicus, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 51.
105. pomiformis, Bass (Cynij)s) 1. c. p. 74.
106 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
ANDRICUS, Hartig— Continued.
S. <i. ANDB1CU6, Hartig— Continued.
LOG. Pattoni, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. i». 98.
107. coxii, Bass. (Cynips) 1. 0, p. 112.
108. papula, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 1<>7.
109. batatoides, Ashin. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. 1881, p. xi.
11<>. foliatus, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. p. xiii.
111. lanigera, Ashm. (Cynip») 1. c. p. xiii.
112. catesbaei, Ashin. (Cynips) 1. o. p. xv.
113. turnerii, Ashin. (Cynips) 1. o. p. xvi.
114. rugosus, Ashin. (Cynips) 1. o. p. xviii.
11."). medullae, Ashui. (Cynips) I.e. 1885, p. viii.
116. geramarius, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. 188f>, p. ix.
117. capsualus, Aslnn. (Cynips) 1. c. 1885, p. ix.
118. virens, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. 1881, p. x.
119. succinipes, Ashm. (Cynips)\. c. p. xi.
120. clavigerus, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. p. xxvii.
121. omnivorus, Aslnn. (Cynips) 1. c. 1885, p. vi.
122. gibbosus, Prov. Le Nat. Can. vol. xii, p. 232.
123. quinqueseptum, n. sp.
CYNIPS, Linn.
124. strobilana, O. S. Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, ii, p. 254; Bassett, I.e. vi, p. 690.
125. echinus, O. S. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 56.
ACRASPIS, Mayr.
126. pezomachoides, O. S. (Teras)\. c. ii, p. 250.
127. erinacei, Walsh (Teras) 1. c. ii, p. 483.
BIORHIZA, Westw.
128. forticornis, Walsh (Cynips) 1. c. iii, p. 190 [ (Teras) O. S. 1. c. iv, p. 379.
129. hirta, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. iii, p. 688; (Teras) O. S. 1. c. iv, p. 379.
130. fulvicollis, Fitch (Philonix) Rep. No. 291; (Teras) O. S. 1. c. p. 379.
131. nigricollis, Fitch (Philonix) 1. c. No. 292 ; (Teras) O. S. 1. c. iv, p. 379.
132. nigra, Fitch, Fifth Rep. No. 290.
133. loxaulis, Mayr, mammilla, Bass. (Cynij)s) Can. Ent. xiii, p. 76.
HOLCASPIS, Mayr.
134. globulus, Fitch (CaUaspidia) Fifth Rep. No. 313; (Cynips) O. S. 1. c. ante
vol. i, p. 67 ; Bassett, 1. c. vol. ii, p. 328.
135. centricola, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. vol. i, p. 58.
136. tenuicornis, Bass. (Cynips) Can. Ent. vol. xiii, p. 92.
137. ficula, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. xii, p. 75.
138. ficigera, Ashm. (Cnnips) Proc. Ent. Soc. 1885, p. vi.
DRYOPHANTA, Forster.
139. gemmula, Bass. (Cynips) Can. Ent. vol. xiii, p. 104.
140. nubila, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 56.
141. bella, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 56.
142. polita, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 56.
143. aquaticae, Ashm. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. 1881, p. xvi.
144. laurifoliae, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. p. xvii.
OAK GALL-FLIES. 107
NEUROTERUS, Hartig.
14f>. batata, Bass. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, iii, p. 684; Fitch, Fifth Rep. No.
311.
146. noxiosus, Bass. (Cynips) Can. Ent. xiii, p. 108.
147. vesiculus, Bass. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, iii, p. 683.
148. irregularis, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. i, p. 65.
149. verrucarum, O. S. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 62.
150. minutus, Bass. (Cynips) Can. Ent. vol. xiii, p. 96.
151. floccosus, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 111.
152. affinis, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 103.
153. piger, Bass. (Cynips) 1. c. p. 105.
154. corrugis, Bass. (Cynijys)!. c. p. 109.
155. majalis, Bass. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila. iii, p. 683.
156. rileyi, Bass. (Cynips) Am. Nat. 1881, p. 149; Am. Ent. vol. iii, p. 153 (figure
of gall).
157. crassitelus, Prov. Le Nat. Can. vol. xii, p. 232.
158. minutissimus, Ashm. (Cynips) Proc. Ent. Soc. 1885, p. vii.
159. confusus, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. 1881, p. xviii.
160. coniferus, Ashm. (Cynips) 1. c. p. xxvii.
The following species were characterized from the galls alone and their ge-
neric position is uncertain :
161. Cynips pilulae, Walsh Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila. vol. iii, p. 481.
162. Cynips juglans, Osten Sacken 1. c. vol. ii, p. 256.
163. Cynips cicatricula, Bassett, Can. Ent. vol. xii, p. 105.
Division II.— Inquilin\e, or Guest Gall-flies.*
PERICLISTIS, Forster.
sylvestris, O. S. (Aulax) Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila. vol. iii, p. 37.
pirata, O. S (Aulax) 1. c. vol. i, p. 64.
futilis, O. S. (Aulax) 1. c. vol. i, p. 64.
semipiceus, Harris (Cynips) Ins. Inj. Veg. p. 549.
CEROPTRES, Hartig.
ficus, Fitch (Cynips) Fifth Rep. No. 314.
petiolicola, O. S. (Amblynotus) 1. c. vol. i, p. 67 ; vol. v, p. 380.
Amblynotus ensiger Walsh, 1. c. vol. ii, p. 496.
inermis, Walsh (Amblynotus) 1. c. vol. ii, p. 598; (Ceroptres) 1. c. vol. v, p. 380.
arbos, Fitch (Cynips) Fifth Rep. No. 310.
tuber, Fitch (Cynips) 1. c. No. 309.
obtusilobse, Ashm. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xii, p. 301.
citriformis, Ashm. 1. c. p. 300.
pomiformis, Ashm. 1. c. p. 300.
virentis, Ashm. 1. c. p. 300.
succinipedis, Ashm. 1. c. p. 300.
lanigerae, Ashm. 1. c. p. 301.
minutissimi, Ashm. 1. c. p. 301.
catesbaei, Ashm. 1. c. 301.
SYNERGUS, Hartig.
lignicola, O. S. Proc. Ent. Soc. vol. ii, p. 252; rhoditiformis Walsh 1. c. p. 499.
oneratus, Harris (Cynips) Ins. Inj. Veg. 3d ed. p. 548; Fitch Second Rep. No.
313; (Synergus) Osten Sacken 1. c. ante vol. v, p. 380.
*As these are parasites on the other gall-flies, they are not numbered as injurious
to the oak.
108 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
SYNERGUS, Bartig— Continued.
laeviventris, O. S. (8ynopkru$) 1. 0. vol. i, p. 54; Walsh vol. ii, p. 494 ; (Synergus)
<>. s. I. c. vol. v, p. 380.
campanula, O. 8. 1.0. vol. v, }>. 376.
dimorphus, O. S. I. c. vol. v, p. 3?(l.
aloipes, Walsh (Synophrus) 1. o. vol. ii, p. 496.
medax, Walsh 1. c. vol. iv, p. 498.
ficigerae, Aahm. Trans. Am. Ent. BOO. x ii, p. 301.
coniferae, Ashin. 1. c. p. 301.
batatoides, Ashin. 1. o. p. 301.
bicolor, Aahm. 1. c i>. 302.
medullae, Ashin. 1. c. p. 302.
SAPHOLYTUS, Foreter.
gemmariae, Ashin. 1. c. p. 302.
Division III.— Figitinjs, or the Parasites.
ANACHARIS, Dahnan.
subcompressa, Prov. (Eucoila) 1. c. (ante) vol. xii, p. 237.
ONYCHIA, Dalman.
quinquelineata, Say ( DipJo iepsi s ) Le Con te's Ed. Say's Works vol. ii, p. 716;
(Figites) Prov. Le Nat. Can. xii. p. 237.
armata, Say (Diplolepsis) 1. c. ii, p. 716; (Figites) Prov. 1. c. xii, 238.
EUCOILA. Westwood.
stigmata, Say (Figites) 1. c. ii, p. 718.
Kleiilotoma maculipenuis, Prov. 1. c. xii, 237.
impatiens, Say (Diplolepsis) 1. c. ii, p. 716.
Kleidotoma cupulifera, Prov. 1. c. xii, 238.
pedata, Say (Diplolepsis) 1. c. ii, p. 717.
mellipes, Say (Figites) 1. c. ii, p. 718.
Kleidotoma minima, Prov. 1. c. xii, p. 238.
KLEIDOTOMA, Westwood.
vagabunda, Ashm. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xii, p. 302.
FIGITES, Latreille.
impatiens, Say 1. c. ii, p. 718.
? chinquapin, Fitch Fifth Rep. No. 320.
-5JGILIPS, Halliday.
? aciculatus, Prov. 1. c. (ante) vol. xii, p. 239.
? obtusilobae, O. S. Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila. vol. i, p. 68.
IBALIA, Latreille.
ensiger, Norton 1. c. vol. i, p. 200.
anceps, Say, Le Conte's Ed. Say's Works, vol. i, p. 218.
maculipennis, Hald. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol. iii, p. 127.
rufipes, Cress. Proc. Ent. Sec. A. N. S. 1879, p. xvii.
montana, Cress. 1. c. 1879, p. xvii.
Mr. W. H. Ashmead has published in the Transactions of the Ameri-
can Entomological Society for 1886, pp. 303-304, the following list of
the species of oak on which the North American Cynipid^: are found,
with a list of the described species (129 in number) inhabiting each kind
of oak. Mr. Ashmead has kindly revised and added to the list, bring-
ing it down to 1888.
OAK GALL-FLIES.
109
The Oaks (Cupulifera).
ENCENO OAK.
(Quercus agrifolia.)
Andricus pomiformis, Bassett.
Callirhytis agrifolia, B.
Cynips echinus, O. S.
WHITE OAK.
(Quercus alba.)
Acraspis pezomachoides,0. S.
forticornis, Walsh.
Andricus fusiformis, O. S.
lana, Fitch.
ulriculus, B.
flocci, W.
Callirhytis clavula, B.
tuber, F.
futilis, O. S.
seminator, Harris.
•Cynips juglans, O. S.
cicatricula, B.
pisum, F.
Dryophanta Carolina.
Holcaspis globulus, F.
Loxaulis mammula, B.
Neuroterus batatus, B.
majalis, B.
minutus, B.
vesiculus, B.
WATER OAK.
(Quercus aquatica.)
Dryophanta aquatica, Ashui.
Andricus turnerii, A.
Amphibolips melanocera, A.
Callirhytis aquatica?, A.
SWAMP WHITE OAK.
(Quercus bicolor.)
Andricus ignotus, B.
Acraspis lanw-globuli, A.
echini, A.
Callirhytis capsulus, B.
Cynips strobilana, O. S.
Xeiwoterus noxiosus, B.
fluccosus, B.
BLACK JACK, OR SCRUB OAK.
(Quercus Catesban.)
Andricus catesbosi, A.
omnirorus, A.
capsualus, A.
infuscatus, A.
cry pi us, A.
UPLAND WrLLOW, OR BLUE JACK OAK.
(Quercus cinerea.)
Amphibolips cinerea, A.
Andricus omnivorus, A.
medulla, A.
gemmarius, A.
capsualus, A.
saltatus, A.
difficilis, A.
blaslophagus, A.
Dryophanta cinerea, A.
SCARLET OAK.
(Quercus coccinea.)
Amphibolips coccinea, O. S.
nanus, O. S.
Andricus osten-sackenii, B.
SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK.
(QMercMsprinws.)
Andricus papillatus, B.
Callirhytis seminator, H.
Holcaspis rugosa, B.
Neuroterus majalis, B.
LAUREL OAK.
(Quercus laurifolia.)
Amphibolips racemaria, A.
cilriformis, A.
spinosa, A.
Andricus rugosus, A.
clavigerus, A.
calycicola, A.
femoratus, A.
Callirhytis calla, A.
Eumayria floridana, A.
Holcaspis fuliginosa, A.
Neuroterus confusns, A.
coniferus, A.
longipennis, A.
laurifolia, A.
BURR OAK, OVERCUP OAK.
Holcaspis jicula, B.
LIVE OAK.
(Quercus virens
Andricus foliatus, A.
lanigerus, A.
virens, A.
Belonocnema treata Mayr.
Holcaspis omnivora, A.
ficigera, A.
Neuroterus minutissimus, A.
110 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
BLACK-JACK OAK, BARREN OAK.
I Qut reus nigra.)
Callirhytis nigra , ( ). S.
operator, O. S.
podagra', W.
PIN oak; SWAMP SPANISH OAK.
| (Jm reus palustris.)
Callirhytis oomigera, 0. S.
palustritf O. S.
notha, O. S.
WILLOW OAK.
(Quercus phellos.)
Amphibolips phellos, O. S.
CHESTNUT OAK.
(Quercus casta nea.)
Xcuroterus rileyi, B.
HINDS'S OAK.
(Quercus hindsii.)
Andricus californicus, B.
MOUNTAIN CHESTNUT OAK.
(Quercus montana.)
Andricus petiolicola, B.
Biorhiza fulvicollis, F.
hirta, B.
OAK.
(Quercus prinoides f)
Dryophanta gem mid a, B.
Holcaspis rugosa, B.
Xeuroterus affinis, B.
corrugis, B.
RED OAK.
(Quercus rubra.)
Amphibolips nubilipennis, H.
ccelebs, O. S.
formosa, B.
sculpta, B.
Andricus singularis, B.
confiuens, B.
papains. B.
Callirhytis modesta, O. S.
punctata, B.
Cynipspiluhv, Jr.
I'd-! MAK.
"-// roiM ohtusiloba.)
Andricus tubioola, O. S.
pattoui, B.
omnivorous. A.
Jloridunus Ashm.
topiarius, A.
strop it.", A.
ciunamona us, A.
Aeraspis VOCCinti, A.
Iliorliiza mi Ilea, A.
Callimgtis parvifolia, A.
Dryophanta polita. B.
Holca8j>is eentricola, O. S.
Jicula. B.
Loxaulis ma in in a I a. I',.
Xeuro terns verruca rum, O. S.
irregularis, O. S.
pattoni, B.
BLACK OAK, YELLOW-BARKED OAK.
( (Jutrcus tinctoria.)
Amphibolips spongifca, O. S.
Andricus papul us, B.
Callirhytis tumifica, O. S.
podagra3, \Y.
scitula, B.
Xeuroterus piger, B.
OAK.
(Quercus ilicifolia.)
Amphibolips ilicifolia, B.
Andricus osten-sackenii, B.
ventricosus, B.
eoniger us, O. S.
Callirhytis similis, B.
palustri8, O. S.
ON UNKNOWN OAKS.
Andricus cinerosus, B.
coxjj, B.
Callirhytis suttonii, B.
Dryophanta nubila, B.
ftetfa, B.
tcxana. A.
Holcaspis tenuicornis, B.
OAK GALL-FLIES. Ill
The following species of Cynipidae are not arranged systematically
or by their modern genera, but so far as practicable by the species of
oak on which they live.
The oak-fig gall-fly.
Cynips quercus-ficus Fitch.
Order Hymenoptera; family Cynipid^e.
Surrounding the twigs of white oaks in a dense cluster, resembling preserved figs
packed in boxes, each molded to the shape of those pressing against its sides, hollow
bladder-like galls of the pale dull yellow color of a faded oak leaf, each gall produc-
ing a small black fly with the lower half of its head, its antennae, and legs pale dull
yellow, its hind shanks dusky, and its abdomen beneath reddish-brown, its antennas
with fifteen and in the female thirteen joints. Length .06, females .10, and to the
end of their wings .14. (Fitch.)
Galls which apparently belong to the above species were received
June 10, 1882, from Miss Kath. Parsons, South Lancashire, Mass., who
found them on the oak at Breakheart Hill, Saugus, Mass., and several
of the gall-flies were bred from them between July 1 and July 13.
Apparently the same kind of galls were found July 20, 1883, in Vir-
ginia on Q. alba. From these issued, from August 16, 1883, to April
21, 1884, numerous parasites, belonging to the genera Torymus, Ormy-
rus, Decatoma, and a Oecidomyid.
The Cynips, which are wingless, differ from those from Miss Parsons
in that they were winged. They commenced to issue January 30, 18S4,
and kept on issuing through the whole of February.
From a few galls, received March 19, 1883, two specimens, also wing-
less, issued February 9, 1884, and large numbers of wingless insects
issued from a lot of galls collected by Mr. Koebele at Meredith Village,
N. EL, in September, 1883, in the same month. Among these last was
also one winged specimen of probably a differeut species. (Riley's un-
published notes.)
The oak-potato gall-fly.
Cynips quercus-batatus Fitch.
Order Hymenoptera; family Cynipid,e.
A large, hard, uneven swelling, three-fourths of an inch thick and twice or thrice
as loug, resembling a potato iu its shape, growing on white-oak twigs more distant
from their ends than the oak-tumor; producing a small black gall-fly with the basal
joints of its antennae and its legs dull pale yellow, its thighs and hind shanks black,
and its middle shanks often dusky, the autennae in the female with thirteen joints,
and the length of this sex .09. (Fitch.)
The oak-bullet gall-fly.
Callaspidia quercus- globulus Fitch aud Cynips oneratus Harris.
Order Hymenoptera; family Cynipid.e.
Smooth, globular galls the size of a bullet, growing singly, or two, three, or mere in
a cluster, upon white-oak twigs, internally of a corky texture, each containing in its
center a single worm, lying in an oval whitish shell resembling a little egg .15 in
112 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
length; producing sometimes ■ black gall-fly with tawny-red legs and the second
reinlef of its wings elbowed or angularly ben I backwards, it> length .15; sometimes
■ smaller tly | C. oneratu*) of a clear pale yellow color, almost white, with a broad
black stripe the whole length of its back, which color in the males is more extended,
reaching down upon the sides, its length .12. (Fitch.)
These species arc parasitized by two chalcid flies, Maeroglenes querci-
globtUi Pitch and Pteromalu* onerati Fitch.
TlIK WOOL-SOWEB GALL-PLY.
Cynipa *t initiator Harris.
Order Hy.menupteka: family Cyxipid.e.
A round mass resembling wool, from the size of a walnut to that of a goose egg,
growing on the side of or surrounding white-oak twigs in June, of a pure white color,
or tinged or speckled with »*ose-red, and in autumn the color of sponge; producing
small shining black gall-flies with bright tawny yellow Legs and antenna-, and in the
female the head and thorax cinuamou-red; their antennae of fifteen aud fourteen
joints; length .08, aud females .11 inch. (Fitch.)
The oak-tumok gall-fly.
Cynips guercus-tuber Fitch.
Order Hymenoptera; Family Cyxipid.e.
On or uear the euds of the small limbs and twigs of the white oak, hard irregular
swellings thrice as thick as the twig below them, the bark upon them of a brighter
cherry -red color than elsewhere, and their substance internally corky and woody;
produced by the stiugs of a small black gall-fly, with dull pale yellow antenme, mouth,
and legs, its hind shanks and its antenme towards their tips being dusky, its length
.08 and to the tips of its wings .13. (Fitch.)
The oak-tree gall fly.
Cynips qnercus-arhos Fitch.
Order Hymenoptera: family Cyxipid.e.
Swellings similar to those above described, growing on the tips of the limbs of aged
and large white-oak trees ; producing a small black gall-fly having all its legs and
antennae of a bright pale yellow color, and one more joint in the latter organs than
in the preceding species iu the males, which sex is .06 in length, aud to the tips of
its wings .JO. (Fitch.)
The followiug observations are from Professor Riley's unpublished
notes:
('ij)iips quercua-seminator Harris.
Galls of this species were found on twigs of Q. alba in May and June in Virginia,
aud the flies and several species of Chalcidians issued from them.
The Cynipids are the true sexes, and were issuing June 13, and the parasites, among
which was also a Cecidomyid, issuing from June till November 12.
Many of the galls were placed with a small tree of Q. alba and covered withgauze,
for observation, but notwithstanding the great number of flies, not a single gall was
produced on leaves or twigs.
OAK GALL-FLIES. 113
C. q.-batatua Bassett.
Found in Virginia June 13, 1883, numerous galls on a small shrub of Q. alba, which
apparently belong to the above species. On some of the large branches all the young
twigs were deformed. Most of the Cynipids seem to have issued, as only a single
specimen was bred June 14.
Betweeu June 14 and July 3 four different species of Chalcidians were bred.
Cynips q.-strobilana Osten Sacken.
Dr. Engelmann found this gall on Q. bicolor February 10, 1872, containing at this
date fully formed larvae.
The same gall on Q. alba was also received from G. W. Letterraann, Allenton, Mo.,
November 10, lb73. Nothing was bred from any of them, but when opened in 1881
they were found to contain the perfect fly and pupae.
C. q.-pezomachoides Osten Sacken.
On Q. alba. Received November 10, 1873, from G. W. Lettermann, Allenton, Mo.
Cynips quercus-clavula Bassett.
Collected in the middle of April, 1870, at St. Louis, Mo., a lot of these galls on Q. alba.
Received also some of the same galls from E. Michener, New Garden, Pa. At this date
the galls are almost all empty; some of them contain, however, different parasites,
among which are Antigaster and a trogositidous beetle and also the dead Cynips.
Galls collected in July contain the larva of parasites. The gall-flies are issuing by
the 20th of July.
Cynips q.-glandulus Riley.
Gall formed on cups of acorns on Q. bicolor, in Chester County, Pa., producing a
very curious swelling of the cupule terminating in a bunch of curly woolly fibers,
the swelling being hard and woody like the acorn and containing in a cavity a ker-
nel.
It is a gall something after the fashion of C. q.-frondosa, and the kernel has the
same crinkled appearance, but is more elongate. It is greenish with a distinct bright
yellowish-brown crown with a point sunken in the middle. In the more perfect
galls the acorn is entirely absorbed.
Cynips q.-duricaria Bass.
Forming small woolly galls on the laurel-leaved oak in Missouri. Galls on both
upper and under surface on the midrib.
Cynips q.-duricaria ?
Received from G. W. Lettermann, Allenton, Mo., November 10, 1873, galls on Q.
alba which probably belong to the above species. Flies are just issuing at this date.
C. q.-globulus Fitch.
Found at St. Louis, Mo., on burr oak and swamp oak. PupaB are found in Septem-
ber, the flies issuing in November.
Cynips quercus-palustris O. S.
May 19, 1869. A globular gall, .45 of an inch in diameter, on the leaves of the pin
oak. Usually situated on the midrib and penetrating the leaf both above and be-
low; sometimes on a side vein ; tolerably smooth ; partly translucent; containing a
5 ENT 8
114 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
•ma]] kernel, usually of an oval form and 08 of an inch long; this kernel perfectly
free and containing the larva. Color of outer gall pale-green, with usually a pale
rosy check, and having pale yellowish blotches. Color of inner gall fulvous. The
galls had completed their growth, though the leaves had not been out more than a
week. Flavor subacid. Flies issued during middle of May.
Cynipr(Xeuroteru8) rileyii Bassett.
Received April 25, 1880, from John A. Warder, North Bend, Ohio, some twigs of
Querent castanea thickly covered with the galls of this insect. Others were received
March 5, 1883, from J. G. Barlow, Cadet, Mo. Cynipids issue during April and early
May. They are preyed upon by a species of Chalcid.
C. q. -sculp ta Bass.
A translucent gall on Q. imbricarid. This is Bassett's C. q. 8culpta, which hi
from Q. rubra. The fly has cloudy wings and is probably nubilipennis Harr. Harris
probably described the gall, but not correctly.
Cynips q.-cornigera O. S.
Found on Q. t'm&rican'a, St. Louis, Mo. Galls of the same species were also obtained
at Kidgewood, N. J., on Q. palustris, and the Hies were issuing for two weeks after
September 8, 1871. They are the true sexes and were very active.
Cynips q.pedunculata.
Received May 22, 1883, from J. G Barlow, Cadet, Mo., one of these galls, found
growing on the margin of Q. obtusiloba. Several were also found May 23 at Wash-
ington, D. C, on leaves of Q. prinos ; a large number of them were, however, de-
stroyed by birds which had eaten them, leaving only the petiole.
The flies were issuing from May 26 to June f>. Some were confined to some leaves
and twigs on the same oak, covered with gauze, but no galls were formed.
On the 6th of May, 1884, the galls were found to be already fully formed.
C. q.-vcntrico8a Bass. ?
In May, 1870, it was observed that a week before the 8th of that month there was
no trace yet of any galls, while on the 8th they were almost fully grown. Large
clusters of these galls up to fourteen and more aggregate around a twig, each ftp-
pressed to one another and terminating in a prominent nipple. Color, green with a
roseate tint and thickly covered with bluish-white hairy pubescence. Inside dense
and spongy, becoming harder towards the cell. Flavor pleasantly subacid or rather
insipid. Larval cell at base close to twig. Larva quite small at this date.
By July 31 a very different growth has formed around the twigs of the same trees,
caused by several spherical growths around the axis, which, as they enlarge, become
closely coutlueut.
Their outside is green aud roughened with a number of fulvous blotches, very
much like the green bark. Flesh tough, yellowish, insipid and leathery, becoming
whiter and more leathery towards the twig. It does not look like a fungus, and yet
has no trace of insects, though in the more woody center there are pellucid spots
which would indicate it to be a gall.
Similar galls were found by Mr. Bassett in October, 1871, on red oak and on Q. ilici-
folia.
It was found also on Q. imbricaria. May 20, 1873. at St. Louis. Mo.
Some old galls which were opened contained the dead gall-flies and three different
parasites.
OAK GALL-FLIES. 115
Cynips suttonii Bass.
Received September 25, 1882, from William Sutton, San Francisco, three very large
galls belonging to above species, found on twigs of Q. lobata. Several of the gall-
flies issued November 8, 1882, and another one January 2, 1883. Chalcidians issued
from January 2 to 13, 1883.
Cynips q.-floccicola Riley.
Producing a fuzzy gall on underside of leaves of swamp oak.
C. q.-decidna Bass.
Received November 10, 1873, from G. W. Lettermann, Allenton, Mo., apparently
the same or a very similar gall to C. q.flocci, on twig of white oak. The insects were,
however, in the larva state July 8, 1874. Nothing was bred.
A lot of galls, which also resemble those of flocci, were received February 14, 1879,
from E. A. Schwarz, Jackson, Miss., but a fly which had issued on the way appears
to be identical with C. q. decidua. Some of the galls contained Chalcidian larvae.
C. q.-flocci W.
Found galls on white oak September 27, 1870, at St. Louis, Mo. Found apparently
the same galls also on black oak, burr oak and red oak.
C. lance Fitch is perhaps synonymous.
Bassett has another gall with totally different kernel.
I have insects and the gall of his flocci.
Flies from galls on post oak issued January 20, 1^72.
Cynips q.-prunus Walsh.
One gall of the above species was received June 11, 1882, from D. S. Sheldon,
Griswold College, Davenport, Iowa, and some dry galls from J. G. Barlow, Cadet,
Mo., March 18, 1883.
Cynips q.-tubicola O. S.
Galls of this insect were received December 31, 1878, from W. B. Flippier, of Tell-
ville, Ark. They were found on the leaves of post oak. Others galls were also
received from Dr. J. W. Sparkman, Plantersville, S. C. The flies issued during the
mouths of January and February, 1879. There also issued quite a number of a
greenish-black chalcid fly. Prof. W. S. Barnard also collected the gall at Atlanta,
Ga., in November, 1880, from which the cynipids and a chalcid which is very likely
identical with those referred to above, issued during January and February, 1881.
Cynips cadncus W. (?)
Round galls in clusters on the midrib on underside of leaf of Quercus undulafa, of
the size of a very small pea. Collected October 10, 1874, and examined December 16,
1876, when one cynipid was found. This gall looks much like 159*. October 1, 1880,
received the same gall from J. Schenck, of Mt. Carmel, Ills., found on Q. muhlembergii.
The larvte were only just hatching; gall tasteless, a pale circle around the larva.
It is evidently caducus W.
Cynips q.-spongifica O. S.
May 19, 1870. Galls are found to contain pupae at this date. Flies issued May 31.
116 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
FEKDING ON THE BUDS.
160. Mamestra detracta Walk.
The following observations have been recorded by Professor Riley:*
Larva* of this species were noticed, April 90, 1884, n<-ar Rock Creek, Washington,
D. C, feeding at night on the huds of oak, and others were seen resting on the twigs
of different kinds of trees and shrubs.
They transformed to papa bj the 2d of May, and the moths commenced issuing by
the 83d of the same month. The pupa is quite aetive, and if placed ou a table is
ab]»« to crawl readily, on account of the spines along its sides.
Moth.— Dark gray. Hind wings black. Expanse of wings, l."20 inches.
161. Agrotis alternata Grt.
The larv;e of the above species were observed, during April, 1884, to climb all
kinds of trees and shrubs and to feed on the buds, especially those of the oak and
hickory. They seemed to prefer, however, the hickory, as on some of the smaller
bushes almost every bud had a hole, sometimes even two or three, and the worms
may often be observed when feeding to have penetrated so far that only about one-
half of their body projects from the bud. On one small oak shrub six of these larva)
were found at work. Numbers of these larvae were also noticed at night to feed on
the liquid which was placed on the trunk of oak trees for the purpose of capturing
moths. They would feed in confinement on almost any kind of leaves from trees and
shrubs and also on grass. By the 1st of May numbers of them were noticed every
evening, as soon as it became dark, to ascend the trunks of the trees and shrubs.
Some begin at this date to enter the ground for transformation, and the moths issue
from the 6th to about the end of June. (Riley.)
Moth. — Color reddish brown, sprinkled with dark brown atoms. Lines obliterated.
No white along the costa. Subterminal space darker than the rest. The wings
tinged with grayish ; no ante-apical spot. Expanse of wings, 1.50 inches. (French.)
162. Scopelo8oma sidus Guen.
This (writes Prof. Riley) is one of the earliest noctuids of the season.
Specimens which were captured March 24, 1884, at sugar, commenced
to deposit their eggs the following day, the larvae hatching therefrom
in about fifteen days. Not fiuding any leaves they commenced at once
to attack the leaf-buds of oak, wild cherry, apple, peach, and perhaps
other trees and shrubs, into which they bore.
The larvae commence entering the ground by about the 10th of May,
and the moths emerge from the last of September to the early part of
November, many, however, remaining as pupae till the next spring.
Larvae of the species were found in May at St. Louis, Mo., feeding
on blackberry, the moth issuing in October.
Eggs. — Globular, with numerous fine ridges, of a yellowish-white, which gradually
changes into a light brownish color.
The newly hatched larva are whitish with black head and dusky thoracic plate and
legs. The first molt takes place about seven days after hatching, and with it
there is quite a change in coloration. The thoracic segments, a broad lateral stripe,
and the anal segment are reddish. The warts are prominent, black, bearing a short,
fine hair.
* For this habit of low-plant feeders eating the buds of trees in early spring, see
Weismann's Studies in the Theory of Descent, i, *271.
INSECTS INJURING OAK LEAVES. 117
After four to six days the second skin is cast and the color has become still darker.
Head honey yellow. Cervical shield polished black. Thoracic and first abdoinina1
segment brownish. Dorsal space light green or whitish, with the medial line and
subdorsal stripe white, a brown line above stigmata and broad white lateral line.
Venter light green. Piliferous warts white, furnished with a fine, short, pale hair.
Four or five days later the fourth and fifth molts take place. (Riley's unpublished
notes.)
INJURING THE LEAVES.
163. The forest tent- caterpillar.
Clisiocampa disstria Hubner; {Clisiocampa sylvatica Harris).
Order Lepidoptera; family BOMBYCID.E.
A caterpillar like the apple-tree tent-caterpillar, but differing from it in having a
row of oval white spots instead of a white stripe along its back ; the colony spinning
a cobweb-like nest against the side of the tree; spinning a whitish cocoon, the moth
appearing early in July.
The nests of this caterpillar, unlike the prominent tents of C. americana,
so abundant in wild-cherry trees and neglected orchards, are seldom
seen, as they are of so slight a texture and are so much less conspicuous
objects than the tent-like whitish nests of C. americana ; but the cater-
pillars are not infrequently met with. After spinning, about the middle
of June in the Northern States, a dense, oblong cocoon, the caterpillar
lies in it about twenty days, the moth appearing the early part of July,
It occurs in the Atlantic and Southern States. Fitch states that it also
occurs on the apple and cherry, the walnut, and other trees. Dr. Kiley
informs me that this is as destructive as any caterpillar to the foliage of
the oak in the Southern States, being far more injurious than stated by
Fitch, who quotes with disapproval Abbot's statement (Insects of Geor,
gia, p. 117) that they are " sometimes so plentiful in Virginia as to strip
the oak trees bare.'7
Boisduval states that this species occurs rarely in California, but Mr.
Stretch states that " the occurrence of this species in California, or even
on the Pacific coast of North America, is unknown" to him. (Papilio,!,
68.)
Mr. James Fletcher* reports that this tent-caterpillar was very
injurious in 1884 in parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, "entirely
defoliating large tracts of hard-wood bush."
" It feeds on leaves of different kinds of trees, such as the different
kinds of oak, but seems to do best on the black oak (Quercus tinctoria)
and laurel oak (Q. imbricaria), though it will feed also on post oak (Q.
obtusiloba) and other species. Found also feeding on hickory, locust,
plum, cherry, apple, and peach." (Kiley's unpublished notes.)
The caterpillar. — Pale blue, sprinkled over with black points and dots. Along the
middle of the back is a row of ten or eleven oval or diamond-shaped white spots ; be-
hind each of these spots is a much smaller white spot, occupying the middle of each
* Report of the Entomologist, 1885. Ottawa.
118 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Fig. 37. -Forest tent-caterpillar; 6, female moth ; c, d, eggs
of the forest tout-caterpillar. (After Riley.)
segment On the hinder p«rt of enofa wing are three crinkled and more or less pale,
orange-yellow lines, which are edged with black. On ea.h tide also is a continuous
andsonie what broader stripe of
the same yellow color, similarly
edged on each side with black.
Lower down on each side of the
body is a paler yellow or cream-
colored stripe, the edges of which
are more jagged and irregular
than those of the one above it.
Length 1.50 inches. (Fitch.)
The male moth usually measures
1.20 across its spread wings. Its
thorax is densely coated with soft
hairs of a nankin-yellow color.
Its abdomen is covered with
shorter hairs, which are light um-
ber or cinnamon brown on the
back and tip and paler or nankin-
yellow on the sides. Theantenine
are gray, freckled with brown
scales, and their branches are very
dark brown. The face is brown with the tips of the feelers pale gray. The fore
■wings are gray, varied more or less with nankin yellow, and they are divided into
three nearly equal portions by two straight, dark-brown lines, which cross them
obliquely, parallel with each other and with the hind margin. The space between
these lines is usually brownish and darker than the rest of the wing, being quite often
of the same dark-brown color as the lines, whereby they become wholly lost. Some-
times the hind stripe is perceptibly margined on its hind side by a pale-yellowish line.
The fringe is of the same dark-brown color with the oblique lines, with two whitish
alternations toward its outer end. But sometimes it is of the same color with the
wings and edged along its tips with whitish. The hind wings are of a uniform pale
umber or cinnamon brown, sometimes broadly grayish on the outer margin, and across
their middle a faint darker brown band is usually perceptible, its edges on each side
indefinite. The fringe is of the same color with the wings or slightly darker and is
tipped with whitish. The under side is paler umber brown, the hind wings often gray,
and both pairs are sometimes crossed by a narrow dark-brown baud, which on the
hind wings are curved outside of the middle. All back of this band on both wings
is often paler, aud more so near the baud.
The female is 1.75 in width, and, in addition to the shortness of the branches of her
antennae, differs from the male in her fore wings, which are proportionally narrower
and longer, with their hind margin cut off more obliquely and slightly wavy along its
edge. Hence, also, the dark-brown lines cross the wings more obliquely, the hind one
in particular forming a much more acute augle with the outer margin. And all the
wing back of this line is sometimes paler or of a brownish-ashy color. And the fringe
of these wings has not the two whitish alternations which are often so conspicuous
in the male. The head aud forepart of the thorax is cinnamon brown. The abdomen
is black, clothed with brown hairs, though very thinly so on the anterior part of each
segment, where these hairs are intermingled with silvery gray scales. (Fitch.)*
*Tbe following references are copied from Mrs. A. K. Dimmock's Insects of Betula,
in Psyche, iv, 275:
Clisiocampa sylvatica Harris (Rept. Ins. Injur. Veg., 1841, pp. 271-272) [= C. disstria
Hiibn.]. Harris (op. cit., p. 272) describes the larva of this species, giving as food-
plants Quercus, Juglans, and apple; later (Treatise on Ius. Injur. Veg., 1362, pp.
375-376., pi. 7, tigs. 18, 19) he repeats the description and adds a colored figure of the
larva and imago, adding wild cherry to the food-plants; again he describes (Entom.
TENT-CATERPILLARS. 119
164. The California^ tent-caterpillar.
Clisiocampa calif omica Packard.
Feeding on the scrubby oak, in abundance near San Francisco, a tent-caterpillar
■with a black head and a double rusty reddish dorsal line, often inclosing a long pale
blue mediau dash, one to each segment ; and with two lateral pale blue irregular
spots ; appearing from the middle of March till the middle of April.
I extract the following notice of its habits by Mr. Henry Edwards :
The moth lays its eggs in Jane, and they must remain unhatched until the follow-
ing spring. Just when the young shoots of the oaks (Quercus agrifolia Nee) begin to
appear, the larvte make their appearance also, spinning thin and irregular webs over
the branches of the trees. In these webs they house mostly during the heat of the
day, but sally forth in the evening and at night for food. In this way they will soon
strip a tree of its leaves, though it is well to say that the oaks do not seem to be per-
manently affected, as they soon send forth fresh shoots, and toward the time that the
caterpillars undergo their change to the chrysalis they are green aud gay again. The
larvae retain the shelter of their web until after the third molt, when they wander
away singly, are found everywhere, becoming sometimes a complete nuisance in gar-
dens and fields. They feed in their more mature stages upon many plants besides
the oak, eating with avidity willows, ash, JZsculus californica, Phatinia arbutifolia,
Arbutus menziesii, as well as apple and pear trees. Toward the end of May they spin
their cocoons, seeming to have no choice of locality, but fixing themselves wherever
they may chance to be, either on walls, palings, trunks or branches of trees, stems
of grapes, or among the leaves of herbaceous plants. The time in the chrysalis state
is about eighteen to twenty-one days, so that the moths emerge and are in the great-
est abundance about the middle of June.
" This species," says Mr. Stretch (in Papilio, vol. i, No. 5), " is exceed-
ingly abundant in the neighborhood of San Francisco, and is probably
widely distributed." Near Sau Francisco its favorite food-plant is a
species of scrubby oak, Q. agrifolia, but it is sometimes found on the
blackberry (Bubus) and other shrubby plants. Its depredations have
lately, Professor Rivers writes me, extended to the orchards. The
nests, according to Mr. Stretch, may be seen in warm localities as early
as the middle of March, while in those more exposed they are not seen
till the middle of April ; but both these dates are sufficiently early to
protect the orchards. The larvae pupate in about six weeks from the
egg, and the imago appears in about a fortnight.
The following notes have been received from Professor Riley :
Received April 20, 1877, from Mr. E. W. Hilgard, Berkeley County, Cal., several
larvae and pupae of above insect.
Corresp., 1869. p. 292) the larva. Morris (Synop. Lepid. N. A., 1862, p. 326) quotes
Harris's descriptions (1841) of the larva aud imago. Riley (Amer. Entom., July-Aug.,
1870, v. 2, pp. 261-265, and 3d Rept. State Entom. Mo., 1871, pp. 121-127) describes
eggs and egg-mass, larva and imago, giving, in addition to the food-plants men-
tioned above, Fraxinus, Tilia, Rosa, Carya, plum, and peach. Saunders (Can. Entom.,
July, 1872, v. 4, p. 134) repeats Riley's figures and (op. cit., Aug., 1877, v. 9, p. 159),
gives another figure of the larva, adding Acer, Crataegus, and Fag us to the food-
plants; later Saunders (op. cit, Feb., 1878, v. 10, pp. 21-23) gives notes on the eggs
of this species and of C. americana, and on the destruction of these eggs by mites.
The larva of this species eats leaves of Beiula alba.
120 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The larva' ;irc about 2 inches lonir, of a velvety, blackish-brown color, and are cov-
ered with quite long yellowish-brown hairs. They are feeding on oak.
The larva- changed to pupae April 21, and the moths issued May lb.
Larva), papa aud eggs were also received in July, 1884, from H. Bliss, Salt Lake
City, Utah, who reports them to be extremely injurious to all kinds of fruit-trees and
other vegetation. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Head black, legs black; abdominal feet pale testaceous. Body black,
faintly dusted with rusty, which forms an exceedingly broken and indistinct lateral
Line and a more complete double dorsal line. Each segment carries a lateral, trans-
verse, very faint linear dot above the lateral line, a dorsal pale blue median stripe,
and on the -hie two irregular pale blue patches separated by a deep black space.
The dorsal ami lateral hairs are all tawny. The general appearance of the larva is
tawny brown. Length about 1.40 inches.
Cocoon. — Constructed in the crevices of bark or in the angles of masonry, where
accessible, and consisting of a loose, white web, in which is suspended the long ovate
cocoon of dense papery consistency, thickened with a yellowish powdery gum.
(Stretch.)
Moth. — Cinnamon brown, with two transverse pale lines curved outward just be-
fore ending on the costa. Base of the fore wings within the inner line lighter than
without. Hind wings darker than the fore pair. Fringe of both pairs of wings
broadly interrupted with pale brown. The female is lighter colored than the male,
with two dark -brown lines, the other one continuing straight on to the costa. Be-
neath, in both sexes, uniformly darker than above. Expanse of wings, male, 1
inch; female, 1.20 inch.
The caterpillar of a species of Clisiocampa, which I have now little doubt is that
of C. californica, which I have bred from eggs received from Miss Emily L. Morton, to
whom they were sent from Colorado by Mr. Nash, was abundant at Virginia City and
Helena, Mont., on the leaves of the wild rose so common near those towns, its con-
spicuous tents readily attracting the eye. A half-grown larva, found June 16 at
Virginia City, measuring .75 inch in length, had a blue-black head. The body was
blue on the sides, with dark spots ; a black subdorsal spot rudely resembling a St.
George's cross occurred on each side of each ring. The median dorsal line was pale
blue, interrupted by the sutures between the segments. On each side of the line was
a brown ocherous patch. The hairs are ocherous brown ; the long ones paler. When
fully grown it is about the size of the eastern tent-caterpillar (C. americana), i. e., an
inch aud a half. The mature larva found at Helena, June 21, was described from
life in my notes as follows:
"Head grayish brown; body pale, grayish-blue on the sides, speckled with black,
with a large black squarish patch extending above into the subdorsal broad longi-
tudinal band, which is mottled with bright ocherous brown, short wavy lines. A
pale bluish distinct longitudinal broad median dorsal stripe interrupted by the Butures
between the segments. Hairs long, pale brown. Body blackish beneath."
At this date the caterpillars had begun to be full-fed, and one caterpillar had spun
a cocoon under a stone.
This caterpillar differs from that of C. americana in having a broad blue dorsal
stripe instead of a white one, and there is no broad lougitudiual black stripe, as in
the eastern caterpillar. It also differs decidedly from the caterpillar of C. constricta
Stretch, the dorsal stripe being blue instead of forming a series of black and ocher-
ous red spots. The blue dorsal interrupted stripe varies in distinctness and may be
nearly or quite absent. In fact, this caterpillar is exposed to much variation, aud
it would be easy to make several species out of this widely diffused one, which in
Colorado feeds on the aspen. A blown specimen received from Prof. J. J. Rivers
" from the mountains of Nevada that may be C. fragilis" is unquestionably a very
distinctly marked larva of C. californica. My Montana specimens closely resemble
it. In Mr. Rivers' Nevada examples the row of long dorsal pale-blue, almost whitish
TENT-CATERPILLARS. 121
blue, spots are very distinct. This dorsal row is flanked on each side by two large
distinct irregular spots of the same pale blue color, the space between them being
conspicuously deep black. In this specimen also the numerous close, broken, fine
dorsal alternating black and ocherous lines so characteristic of C. calif ornica are
present.
Whether the larva received from Professor Rivers, and referred by him with doubt
to C. fragilis Stretch, is that species is quite another question. I have not seen either
the larva or imago of Stretch's fragilis.
165. The Pacific oak tent-caterpillar.
Clisiocampa constricta Stretch.
Feeding on the leaves of the Sonoma oak of California, a tent-caterpillar, with a
broken dorsal row of large rust-red spots, and transforming at the end of May, the
moth appearing late in June.
Prof. J. J. Rivers writes me regarding this species: "I have never
found G. constricta but upon oak. This species can not be confused
with any of the others that I am acquainted with, because the male is
always pale and the female always dark, the male being a cream color
and the female a little like red cedar color with a warm tone."
From an excellent blown larva kindly loaned me by Professor Eivers
1 find that it differs from all the other Oalifornian species in the large,
conspicuous ocherous-red dorsal patches which give rise to peculiar
wedge-shaped ocherous tufts of short hairs ; also by the lateral row of
short white tufts, while the body in general is much more hairy than in
the other species. No eastern species has such a characteristic and
peculiar arrangement of spots and hairs.
The following descriptions of larva, chrysalis, and cocoon of this moth
are copied from Mr. Henry Edwards's account in the Proceedings of the
California Academy of Sciences, vol. v, 1874, p. 368:
Larva. — Head slate-gray, with black spots; mouth parts black, tipped with dull
yellow. Body slate-gray, covered laterally with fine black speckles. Along the middle
of the dorsal region is an irregular black strip e, marked on its sides with waved orange
lines, and surmounted at the union of the segments by a double tuft of chestnutr
brown hairs. On the second and third segments, in the middle of the notched black
line, is a stripe of dull white. From the base of the orange-brown tufts spring a few
scattered black hairs, longest anteriorly, and from the forepart of each segment arise
lateral tufts of white hairs. The stigmata are orange, with black central points.
Above the base of the feet is a black interrupted line, out of which spring other white
hairs, irregularly disposed. Under side dull velvety black, with the anterior portion
of each segment whitish. Feet and prolegs black, yellow at their tips. Length 1.85
inches. Food-plant, Quercus sonomensis Benth.
The larva is frequently attacked by a species of ichneumon, the eggs of which are
visible on the head and anterior segments.
Chrysalis. — Chestnut brown, with few hairs along the base of each segment.
Cocoon. — Ovo-lanceolate, very silky, yellowish white, with some portions glued in
compact mass and whiter than the remainder. Chrysalis only imperfectly seen
through the web. Larva May 22, changed to chrysalis May 29. Imago, June 16.
Moth. — Of the size and general appearance of C. americana, but the outer line, in-
stead of being directed outward on the costa, is more sinuous than in the eastern
species, and decidedly curved inwards upon the costa.
122 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
166. Tin: A.mkkicax i.ai'I'kt-moth.
Qaatropacha amerieana Harris.
Order Lepidoptkra ; family Bombycidjt:.
The interesting larva of this moth rarely occurs on the oak.
Larva.— Body broad, somewhat flattened; the lateral ridge produced on eaeh seg-
ment into a pail of hairy lappets, white, edged with gray, and Cringed with lung radi-
ating hairs. On the eighth abdominal segment is a round Mack hamp ringed with
white. The body is white and gray, mottled so as to resemble the pale bark of the
ash or poplar. When creeping two transverse bright scarlet bands are disclosed in
the siit in. s just behind the second and third thoracic segments. On each segment
are two dorsal, curved spindle-shaped dark gray spots: the sides are clouded with
dark gray. Length :>:>-<;()""".
167. The Califobnian phkyganidia.
Phryganidia califomica Pack.
Order Lepidoptbra ; family Zyqmmdm.
Very destructive to young oaks, a naked, yellowish-white caterpillar, striped with
black and white, with a large head, wandering incessantly over the bnshesaad feed-
ing very rapidly ; spinning no cocoon, but the chrysalis, yellowish and black, attached
by the tail to fences, &c.
This is, by its numbers and familiar habits, one of the best known
and most destructive insects of California. The following accouut has
been furnished me for Hayden's Report by Mr. Henry Edwards:*
"This insect is also very destructive to our young oaks, the caterpillars, which are
naked perfectly and with the head almost monstrous in size, making their appearance
about the same time as those of Clisiocampa. They are
restless little creatures, wandering incessantly over the
trees and feeding very rapidly. They spin no cocoon,
but hang by the tail, like the larva of Vanessa, etc. The
change to the chrysalis is undergone in April and May,
and the moths appear in about fifteen or sixteen days.
There is a second brood of these insects, the imagos of
Fig. 38.-Caliibrnian Phrygani- the laUer appearing in September and October. Indeed,
<lia. — From Packard, after „ , ,, ., , .,
_ fresh specimens are now upontr.e wing, though the sec-
ond brood is by no means so abundant as the first. I have
observed that Phryganidia and Clisiocampa never associate upon the same tree, and
I think that the former has always the mastery. This is perhaps owing to some ex-
cretion from its body which is unpleasant to the Clisiocampa, but of course I do not
speak with certainty as to this fact. It is, howrever, sure that they are never found
in large quantities on the same tree. I am inclined to think that Phryganidia is more
destructive to the oaks than the other species, as it feeds solely upon Quercus, while
the other, as I have said, is not so particular in the choice of its food. I inclose my
published description of the eggs of Phryganidia.'' I quote Mr. Edwards's description
of the egg and larva:
" The egg is spherical, a little flattened above, shining, yellowish-white at exclusion,
attached in clusters of about ten or twelve to the upper sides of the leaves. The
third day the apex of the egg assumes a dull orange hue, afterwards changing to a
bright reddish-purple and gradually to a duller shade as the young larva emerge.
The eggs were laid by a female in my possession on July 5. In the young larva the
head is very large, almost monstrous, pale olive-brown, with a narrow black line at
basr ; body pale canary-yellow, with four rows of black spots arranged longitudi-
nally in lines.
* A. S. Packard, jr., Report on the Pocky Mountain Locust, *Vc. Hayden's Report
U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories for 1876.
THE CALIFORNIAN PHRYGANIDIA.
123
" The larva is slender, with the head prominent, globose ; last segment but one
iiutnped ; head pale brown; body black above, dirty green below, with a broad dor-
sal line of dirty greenish, divided by three narrow black lines, and the sutures
faintly marked with same color. There is also a narrow, broken, stigmatal line of
dirty greenish, and a similar line above each of the abdominal legs. Tip of the last
segment horny, the segment not being used to assist in progression, but usually
slightly elevated ; body smooth, transversely wrinkled. Younger specimens chiefly
differ in the disproportionate size of the head. Length .90 to 1 inch." (H. Edwards. )
Pupa, naked, suspended by the tail, greenish white, with black markings ; all the
sutures of the head, thorax, legs, and antennae lined with black. The mesothorax has
a central black line ; the abdomen has a dorsal row of black points on the front edge
of each segment, and a lateral row blending into each other towards the anal seg-
ment, which is black ; below with two sublateral series of black transverse spots
nearly blending into two longitudinal bands. Length 0.75 inch. (Stretch.)
Moth. — Sable brown, partially transparent ; antenna? and veins darker ; fore wings
with the costa straight and apex obtuse, subrectangular. The hind wings of the
female scarcely reach to the* end of the abdomen. Expanse of wings, 1.22 to 1.47
inches.
Mr. Behrens, of San Francisco,
writes me that three generations of
the Phryganidia appear in a year.
" In 1875 it, with the larva of the
Clisiocampa calif ornica, ate our ever-
green oaks to broomsticks. You
could hear the caterpillars eat and
their manure drop, the latter cover-
ing everything; it could be swept
together by the bushelful. In the
wake of both followed ichneumon
parasites."
This singular insect was originally,
from a study of the moth alone, re-
ferred by me to the Psychinae, but
Mr. E. H. Stretch, with a knowl-
edge of its transformations, has
shown that I was in error, and has
placed it very properly in the Zy-
gaeuidae, in his valuable work enti-
tled Illustrations of the Zygaenidae
and Bombycidae of North America
(1873). Having recently received
specimens of the larvae and pupae
from Mr. James Behrens, it was at once evident on a cursory examina-
tion that the early stages show all the characteristic features of tbe
Zygaenidae. The venation of the moth is, however, unusual, and this,
together with the dull-brown coloration and semi-hyaline wings, misled
me into placing it near Psyche. Mr. A. G. Butler, of the British
Museum, regards it as closely allied to Dioptis.
Fig. 39.— a, larva of Phryganidia californica,
after Stretch ; b, pupa ; c, d, end of pupa. Bridg-
ham, del.
124 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
168. The oraxge->triiki> oak-worm."
An 'mot a ainatonu Hiibner.
Order Lepidoptera: family Bombycid.k.
In August, sometimes stripping the trees, a spiny black caterpillar, with four orange-
yt'llow vtoipef «>n the book and two along each side, with two black prickles above
and two on each side, changing the following June to a large ocher-yellow moth,
with a large white dot on the fore wings.
These prickly caterpillars, during certain years, as I have noticed at
Amherst, Mass., and at Providence, as well as in Maine, so abound as
to nearly strip large oak branches of their leaves, and is perhaps the
most destructive of all our caterpillars to the foliage of the oak. The
spines, if they happen to penetrate the skin, as Fitch and others have
observed, sting like nettles. This species, Mr. Riley informs me, is the
more injurious in the Northern States, while A, stigma is most destruct-
ive in the Southern. According to Riley, Mr. Bassett has bred a small
ichneumon fly (Limner ia [Bancnus] fugitiva Say) from this caterpillar.
Riley has also bred it from the larva of Anisota stigma, Clisiocampa
sylvatica, as well as other caterpillars.
Mr. Lintner states that "the larvaB occur so abundantly at Center as
wholly to defoliate numbers of the smaller oaks. On the 7th of July
the female moths were seen to have commenced the deposition of their
eggs on the under side of oak leaves in patches often nearly covering
the entire surface. On the 11th of July some newly hatched larvae
were observed." (Eut. Contr., i, 5S, foot-note 1.)
In 1882 this caterpillar was very destructive to oak forests in Penn-
sylvania. Professor Claypole writes to the Canadian Entomologist
(xv, 38):
I have seen hillsides that looked as if fire had passed over them in consequence of
the destruction of the foliage by millions of this species. Iu the woods they could be
found crawling over almost every square foot of ground and lying dead by dozens
in every pool of water. The sound of their falling ''frass," too, was like a slight
shower of rain. Farmers tell me they have never known them to be so abundant before
within their recollection. Harris says this species lives on the white and red oaks in
* Anisota senatoria Abb. & Smith (Nat. Hist. Lepid. Ins. Ga., 1797, v. 2, p. 113, pi.
57). Harris (Rept. Ins. Injur. Veg., 1841, p. 291-29*2) describes the larva, pupa, and
imago of this species; the larva, he states, feeds upon white and red oaks [Quercw
sp.]. Morris (Synop. Lepid. X. A., 1862, p. 231) describes the larva and imago. Har-
ris (Treatise on Ins. Injur. Veg., 1662, p. 405-406) figures and describes larva, pupa, aud
imago, and (Entom. Corresp., 1869. p. 896, pL 2, fig. 9, and pi. 4, fig. 12) gives a col-
ored figure of the larva and a black one of the pupa. Riley [?] (Amer. Entom., Sept.-
Oct., 1669, v. 2, p. 26) states that the larra eats raspberry [Rubus sp.]. Lintner
(Entom. Contrib., No. 2. 1672, p. 51-52) describes the early stages of the larva, which,
he writes, has four molts (five stages), and feeds on Qucrcu* prinoides. Packard
( Bull. 7, U. S. Entom. Comm., 1881, p. 45) briefly describes the larva, and gives a few
notes upon its habits. The larva feeds on Betula alia. (Mrs. Dimmock, Psyche,
iv. 275.)
THE SPINY OAK-WORM. 125
Massachusetts. Here the white oaks were untouched and the red oak is not abun-
dant. The food of the caterpillars was almost exclusively the foliage of the black oak
(Q. tinctoria), the scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), and the bear or scrub oak (Q. ilicifolia).
(See also American Naturalist, xvi, 914.)
It was also abundant in September of the same year in Sagadahock
and Cumberland Counties, Maine, and in Rhode Island.
The following notes on the egg and freshly-hatched larva are con-
tributed by Professor Riley :
August 1, 1869, received of F. A. Gates, Massillon, Cedar County, Iowa, a ribbed
female of Dryocampa senatoria with a batch of over 300 eggs on the underside of a
raspberry leaf. These eggs are almost round in outline, depressed, being about half
as high as. wide, the width across being .04 of an inch. The shell is so very trans-
parent that it makes a very good object for watching the development of the em-
bryo. The egg is when first laid yellow, with a darker brownish ring above.
The larva when first hatched is pale yellow, with a large black head, black thoracic
legs and two stiff black horns springing with an anterior slant from the top of seg-
ment 2, each of which horns terminate in two finer bristles. The rest of the body is
covered with pale bristles. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Head large, fully as wide as the body ; jet black. Body uniformly thick,
cylindrical. On meso thoracic segment a pair of long and slender, stiff, black spines,
blunt at the end, nearly as long as the body is thick. They stand erect, diverging a
little, and arise from swollen bases, connected by a slight transverse ridge. On each
succeeding segment there is a transverse series of four small, sharp, simple spines,
one or two sometimes ending in two spines ; and low down on each side, below the
spiracles, are three large and a fourth minute short acute spine.
There are on the hinder part of the back of most of the segments two small black
spines. The spines become larger on the last three, especially the penultimate seg-
ment. Supra anal plate large and flat, rather rough, ending in two acute spines, with
four smaller spines on each side. Abdominal legs larger and broad, with stiff short
hairs on the hinder and lower edge.
Prothorax unarmed, but with a thickened conical plate. Body jet-black, with a
double dorsal ocher-yellow-brown line, a narrow subdorsal line, and two wavy lateral
lines of the same color. A median ventral ochre-brown band. Length, 42mm.
Moth. — Male antennae broadly pectinated on basal two-thirds ; yellowish-brown ;
base, costa, and outer edges bathed in faint purplish ; the hind wings of the male well
rounded ; fore wings slightly spotted with dark brown ; a clear large round white
discal spot ; an outer oblique distinct brownish line extending from a little beyond
the middle of the inner edge to the costa just before the apex. Expanse of wings
of male, 42mra ; female, 57mm.
169. The spiny oak- worm.
Anisota stigma Htibner.
Eating the leaves in September, in the Southern States especially, a worm like the
preceding, but of a bright tawny or orange color, with a dusky stripe along the back
and dusky bands along the sides, and with its prickles lengthened into thorn-like
points.
This worm is said by Dr. Riley to be nearly as destructive in the
Southern States as A. senatoria is in the Northern.
According to Abbot and Smith, in Georgia the caterpillar goes into the
ground to pupate September 20 and comes forth by the middle of June
126 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
following. The young at first keep together and as they grow larger
disperse.
The following quotations are from Riley's unpublished notes:
"Found feeding on oak and hazel at St. Louis, Mo., by Professor Riley,
OD hazel in Illinois, by Mr. Muhlemann, and on both oak and hazel by
Mr. Saunders, London, Out. Moths issue from middle of May to mid-
dle of June. Eggs were noticed to hatch July 10. Went through the
first two molts till July 20, and through third molt July 27. The first
larva entered the ground August 4, aud the last one August 22, 1870.
These are specimens from Canada, but around Kirk wood, Mo., there
are some found which are not yet full grown at this date.
" Mr. Saunders says, November 21, 1870, that he has noticed a sec-
ond brood.
M According to Abbot and Smith this is the more spotted moth, and
their larva agrees with mine, but is colored too yellow. Their larva
of pellucida seems to differ principally in having two pink longitudinal
vittae, each side. The male and female of A. stigma are almost alike,
whilst in A. pellucida they are unlike. Both are sometimes found on the
same tree.
11 Dr. Asa Fitch states that his little daughter was stung badly by a
larva which he had feeding uuder a glass; but, notwithstanding that
a slight stinging sensation is discernible, it can not be likened to that
of the true stinging larvae and is not more irritating than the prickly
spines of Vanessa interrogationis.
11 Young larva. — August 24, 1876, found a lot of caterpillars feeding on Quercus
bicolor? They are .63 of an inch in length, and of a dark greenish-gray color, with a
broad dorsal line a shade darker; on each segment there are six black thorns tipped
with white ; two on the dorsal line, one on each side, and one on the margin of each
side ; those on the sides are very small and more like tubercles ; thorns on the back
and sides nearly equal in length, getting a little longer on the last segmeuts ; on the
second segment are two very long horns, resembling very much antennae, the point
of which is divided into two; they are directed forwards and curved a little back-
wards. Head, brick-red, not very glossy ; feet black. Destroyed by parasites.
11 Full grown larva. — Average length, 50mm. General color pale tawny-red, inclining
to orauge. The whole surface covered with bright yellow, almost white papillae of
different sizes, giving a speckled appearauce ; the usual medio-dorsal narrow line ; a
broad subdorsal longitudinal stripe of a paler color and having a dingy carueoushue ;
a narrower substigmatal stripe of the same hue. Horns and spines black and marked
with white papilhe, and with a tendeucy to brauch, especially towards the tips; the
longer horns on joint 2 being blunt-pointed, aud also with white papilhe at the
base. Head uniformly gamboge-yellow ; cervical shield, anal plate, and plates on
anal prolegs of the same yellowish color as head. A pale medio- ventral line ; the
thoracic legs pale, the prolegs with pale papilhe outside ou a dark ground.
" The species is at once distinguished from the other species of the genus by the
longer spines, their tendency to furcation and being speckled with white papilhe,
and by the less distinct striping." (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Moth. — This is closely allied to A. senatoria, but in both sexes the wings are rather
darker and more spotted with blackish; the cross-line on the hind wings is heavier
and more distinct, and the white discal spot is apt to be less perfectly round than in
senatoria. Expanse of wings, malt-, 45mm; female, 53 to 55mra.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 127
170. The rosy-striped oak-worm.
Anisota peUucida Hiibner.
Order Lepidoptera; family Bombycid^e.
Eating the leaves in July, in New York, a two-horned prickly worm of an obscure
gray or greenish color, with dull brownish-yellow or rosy stripes, and its skin rough
from white granules.
This species has been said by Fitch to have been common for many
years in Salem, N. Y., where A. stigma has seldom been seen The worms
mostly enter the ground to transform into the pupa early in August,
though some remain on the trees as late as the middle of September.
The following description is copied from Prof. G. H. French's Report
of the Curator of the Museum of the Southern Illinois Normal Uni-
versity, 1880. They occurred on different species of oak' during the
middle and last of September, most of them pupating by October 2 in
the soil.
Larva. — Length about 1.25 inches. General color pale dull green, striped with fine
red substigmatal, subdorsal, and dorsal stripes, the last very pale, so as to be almost
obsolete. Head with a slightly yellowish tinge. On each segment there are six
short black thorns or sharp points, the two on the back of the second segment behind
the head being about one-fourth inch long, but the rest much shorter.
We add also the following description furnished by Dr. Riley, who
has compared it with the caterpillar of Anisota stigma :
A. peUucida comes nearest to A. stigma in general appearance, but the spines are
shorter, more pointed, uniformly black; the color is darker, being almost black, so
that the papillae, which are ratber denser, give the dark portion a bluish cast ; the
subdorsal and stigmatal lines are of a more intense red, inclining to pink, and the
stigmatal line is rather broader than the subdorsal. The average length is somewhat
less and the larva more slender than in stigma; the shorter, blacker spines, deeper
colors, and stronger contrast between the lines at once separating it from stigma.*
Specimens, without much doubt belonging to this species, though we
have not found the moth in Maine, occurred on the red oak at Bruns-
wick, Me., August 28. The body was greenish, with dark dorsal and
lateral, not ** reddish," bands.
Moth. — Besides being smaller, the male differs from those of A. stigma and senatoria
in the hind wings being distinctly triangular, the outer edge being straight and the
hind angle somewhat produced; the fore wings are also decidedly narrower, while
the white discal spot is considerably larger, and the wings are throughout consider-
ably darker and free from dark spots. Expanse of wings of male, 40,mn.
* Found ou differeut kinds of oak, October 2, 1873, many larvae looking like A.
stigma. The form is the same, but they differ considerably from them in color and
markings. It is to be distinguished from A. stigma in its smaller size, in the ground
color of the dark parts being blacker, the papillae being yellow instead of white, and in
the paler vittae being of a deep pink or lake-red. The head and anal shield are more
olivaceous and the spines are shorter and stouter. The whole larva is more brightly
.and distinctly marked. Moths issued April 22, 1874.
Some of the dried larva skins were brought from Loudoun County, Va., in July,
1881. (Riley's unpublished notes).
128 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The caterpillars of the following species of Lepidoptera are not known
to be especially injurious, but occur more or less frequently on the
leaves :
171. Basilarchia astyanax (Fain. Limenitis Ursula Fabr.).
In New England a caterpillar occurred on leaves of the scrub oak as
early as June 1; by June 7 it pupated, the chrysalis suspended verti-
cally by the tail, while the butterfly emerged June 18. Harris also
observed a pupa July 8, the butterfly appearing July 20. It also feeds
on the willow, wild cherry, Carpinus americana, and various shrubs.
It ranges from the Atlantic coast to Kansas.
Larva. — Larva found feeding on leaves of scrub oak, June 1 ; head tinged with pale
purple, two white stripes down the center of the face, lip brownish; vertex bifid,
tuberculated, tubercles pale green. Body elongated, cylindrical, a pair of tubercles
on each segment, those on the second beiug much elongated, linear, with short, blunt
spines; first and second segments pale reddish-yellow, tubercles dirty green; third
segment whitish or reddish white, veined with pale green above, tubercles pale ;
fourth segment green above, tinged with ocherous, especially at sides ; fifth segment
pale olive green above, darker at sides; tubercles whitish, transverse elevated liue
at sides whitish, as it is in all the following segments; sixth segment olive green,
with two longitudinal white lines above ; seventh segment olive green at sides, red-
dish white or clay colored behind, and on the top two white lines with a clay-colored
patch between, a small blackish spot near the stigma; eighth segment clay colored,
slightly green at sides behind ; ninth segment greenish at sides, with a small black
spot, clay colored above, before with two white lines ; tenth and eleventh segments
dark olive green, tubercles paler; twelfth segment dark green above, tubercles four,
ocherous. Feet ocherous; prolegs greenish bordered with ocherous. Body beneath
whitish varied with green. Length, 1.3 inches. (Lintner.)
Pupa. — Like that of B. archippus in form and color.
Butterfly. — Expanse of wings, 3 inches. Upper surface black, tinged with bluish or
greenish, and a little with fulvous at the apex of the fore wings. Along the outer
margin are two rows of blue or green spots, the outer in the form of crescents, the inner,
lunules. Under side brownish-black, the outer border repeated, preceded by a row of
black and a row of fulvous spots, some of the latter obsolete near the posterior angle.
There are two fulvous spots in the cell of the fore wings, three near the base of the
hind wings, and some on the costae of both wings near the base. (French.)
172. Basilarchia archippus (Cram. Limenitis disijypus Godt.).
According to Scudder, French, and others, this butterfly occasionally
feeds on the oak, and the accompanying figure was drawn from a cater-
pillar found on the oak. (See Poplar Insects.)
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES.
129
Fig. 40.— Larva of Basilarchia archippus (Limenitis disippus). Emerton del.
173. The live oak thecla.
Thecla favonius Abbot and Smith.
The green, slug-like caterpillars of this beautiful butterfly were ob
served on the live oak at Enterprise, Fla., April 7 and 8, also a few
days afterwards at Crescent City, and again on the scrub live oaks on
Anastasia Island, St. Augustine. They pupated April 13, 14; the
chrysalis in general appearance closely resembling that of Thecla cala-
nus, found about Providence. They breed easily in confinement, my
specimens haviug been placed in a small pocket tin box. After my re-
turn to Providence the butterflies emerged from April 30 to May 2. It,
is the most common species iu the Southern States, and is said by Abbot
and Smith to feed on Quercus rubra and other oaks.
Larva. — Closely resembling in general appearance that of Thecla calanus. Body
straw-yellowish green, with fine yellowish papillas and dense, short hairs. Head pale
horn color, small and narrow. Length, 17™m.
Pupa. — Of the same size and shape as that of Thecla calanus, thehirsutiesthe same,
though not quite so coarse. In color rather pale horn, not so much mottled with
black. It differs from T. calanus in the distinct lateral row of black dots. Length,
10mm.
Imago. — Wings of the usu al form and color in the genus. Fore wings of male with
a blackish sex-mark below the costa; a tawny patch in the first and a larger, more
distinct oue in the second median cell. Hiud wings with a large deep orange patch
near the inner angle, with a minute one on each side; orange spots on the inner
' angle. "The points of the W formed by the inner line on the under side of the bind-
wings touching the outer line." (French.) Expanse of wings, 23mm.
5 ENT 9
130 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
174. Liu da (iiitoh/ciiH Edwards.
This butterfly ranges from Missouri to Texas. The following ac-
count is given us by Professor Riley !
Found May B, 1872, under an oak tree, beneath stone and bricks, a rather eurious
conchiliform larva.
Larva, — Head and first joint retractile. Color dull straw-yellow, variegated with
pair fulvous and olive green. Minutely granulated with black spots, each giving
rise to a short stiff hair. Dorsum narrow, flattened ; sides sloping roof-fashion. Ven-
ter glaucous, with full complement of legs well developed. Stigmata large, but so
COnoolorons with body that they are seen with difficulty. Before transforming to
pnpa the distinctive characters are lost and it becomes pinkish, more rounded, and
the black dots are all pale.
Papa.— Of the normal rounded form; of a dull dirty yellowish-brown, speckled with
black, and pubescent with short pale blunt bristles. The head is produced into a
hood with flattened frontal edge, and the characteristic feature is a white narrow
transverse egg-like elevated spot in place of the first spiracle on suture between head
and thorax — looking as though they might be eyes. Head parts not distinguishable.
Imago Issued May 25. (Unpublished notes.)
Butterfly. — Differs from Thecla favonius in the points of the W not touching the
outer line. Expanse of wings, 1.05 to 1.1 inches. (French.)
175. Thecla edwardsii Saunders.
The following note on this butterfly, which ranges from Maine to
Nebraska and Colorado, has been contributed by Professor Riley:
July 2, 1875, found two larvae of a Thecla on oak. They are dark velvety green ;
changed to pupa July 4, and the imago issued on the 13th. (Unpublished notes.)
Butterfly. — Upper surface pale wood-brown ; the male with the usual subcostal sex-
mark, hind wings with one short tail and an angle in place of the second tail ; two
faint blackish spots on the hind wings, one between the tail and the angle and the
other towards the anal angle, with faint orange crescents before each.
Under side paler than the upper, two rows of spots across each wing, as in the lines
of Thecla acadica Edwards; they are shorter, with spaces between. The spots of the
inner row, except the last two on the hiud wings, are oblong and oval, each sur-
rounded with white, the last two longer than the others. The outer row is a series
of blackish crescents, edged on the inner side with white, on the outside with orange,
fading out towards the apex of the fore wings, more prominent at the anal portion
of the hind wings: the usual blue patch between the next to the last and the mar-
gin, and the two black spots of the other species. At the end of the discal cell a
spot similar to the spots of the inner row. Maine to Nebraska, Colorado. Expanse
of wings, 1.1 inches. (French.)
176. Thecla calauus (Huebner).
According to Scudder (Butterflies of the Eastern United States) this
butterfly feeds on Quercus rubra and Q.falcata, but prefers the walnut
and hickory. (See Walnut Insects.)
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 131
177. Juvenal's skipper.
Thanaos juvenalis West wood.
The larva of this butterfly is not uncommon
on the white oak from early in September uutil
towards the middle of October iu Providence.
We observed one caterpillar which (October 8) fig. u.— Larva (a) and pupa
curled a leaf over its body and spun a thin floss ^^Za^LT^
of silk in which to transform.
Thanaos ennius was originally regarded as the uortheru representa-
tive of Thanaos juvenalis Westwood, but Mr. Scudder now writes me
that he regards ennius as a synonym of T. juvenalis. In New England
this skipper is seen in meadows iu May and again in August.
Larva. — Body somewhat flattened, tapering towards both ends ; dull pea-green, the
skin granulated with distinct white pimples. A lateral white line. Head wider than
the prothoracic segment, bilobed, somewhat flattened in front, dark dull reddish-
brown, with each lobe of the vertex touched slightly with red-brown, and an orange-
red spot on the inside of each set of eyes. A dark median dorsal stripe and a lateral
yellow line; the lateral ridge whitish. Length, 26mm.
Butterfly. — Smoky brown on both sides; fore wings variegated above with gray,
with transverse rows of dusky spots, and six or seven small semi-transparent white
spots near the tips; six of these spots are disposed in a transverse row, but the two
Uindmost are separated from the others by a considerable interval, and the seventh
spot, which is sometimes wanting, is placed nearer the middle of the wing. Hind
wings with a row of blackish spots near the hind margin. Expanse of wings, 1.6
inches. (Harris.)
178. Thanaos brizo Bois. and Le C.
Besides feeding on a leguminous plant (Galactia glabella) the larva of
this skipper occurs on Quercus ilicifolia. (Scudder.)
179. Smerinthus exccecatus (Abbot and Smith).
The larva of this sphiugid moth has been found on Quercus imbricarius
and Q. obtusiloba by Professor Riley, who has communicated the follow-
ing description :
Larva. — Normal form. Uniform pea-green. The papilla? cream-colored and regu-
larly arranged in about eight annulets. A bluish vesicular medio-dorsal mark.
Yellowish-green oblique lines extending length of two joints, the last brighter yel-
low and extending up the caudal horn, which is also papillated. The thoracic joints
have a longitudinal yellow subdorsal line. The head is triangular, but bluntly so;
the front flattened, more polishad, and deeper green, with less distinct papiloe and
separated from the hinder part, which is like the body, by a pale A relieved behind
by darker shade. Abdominal and thoracic legs rosy outside. Stigmata white with
heavy black anunlations. — (Unpublished notes).
180. Daremma undulosa Walker.
This sphingid feeds occasionally on the white and red oak. ( W. J.
Holland, Can. Ent, June, 1886. See Ash Insects.)
132 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
181. Nola ovilla Grote.
(Larva. Plate xxxv. Fig. 2.)
One of the most interesting tonus whose life-history we have made
out is that of a species of Nola. The position of the genus Nola has
long been an uncertain one. By some of the older authors, notably
Hiibner, the species were placed among the Pyralidaj, and Stainton in
his Manual of British Butterflies and Moths regards the genus as form-
ing " Family IX, Nolidai " under the Pyralites, though he says : " One
little group, the Nolidre, is by many recent authors, and perhaps with
reason, referred to the Bombycina, being placed with family Litbosidae."
The genus is now generally placed among the Lithosiaus. In our
Synopsis of Bombycidae we omitted to mention it, partly on account of
want of specimens and partly perhaps from supposing it not to be a
true Bombycid. Mr. Grote was the first American author to enumerate
it in his New Check List of North American Moths, 1884, and to in-
clude it among the Litbosise.
Having reared Nola ovilla, my attention has again been drawn to its
systematic position, which seems without much doubt to be properly
among the Lithosiae and near Clemensia.
I have fouud the larva frequently on the oak in September both in
Maine and Rhode Island. Its habit is unmistakably Lithosian; it dif-
fers, however, from Arctian and Lithosian lame in having one less pair
of abdominal legs, having but four pairs, whereas the caterpillars of
the Lithosiae and Arctians have, like most caterpillars, an additional
pair, i. e., ten abdominal legs in all.
When I first discovered the larva of Nola ovilla I supposed it to be
near Orocota. It was fouud to be common on the leaves of the oak in
Maine, September 6.
September 14 to 16 the caterpillars made singular boat-shaped, flat-
tened, oval-cylindrical cocoons closely attached to the surface of the
leaves; they were spun with silk, but covered closely on the inside
with bits of oak leaves. The pupa appeared as soon as the cocoon was
completed, September 15. The moths appeared May 31 and June 1 of
the following year.
Larva. — The body is broad and much flattened, rather short, with four pairs of well
developed abdominal feet, the first pair being situated on the fourth abdomiual seg-
ment. The head is not very large, three-fourths as wide as the body : black, with a
few paler irregular Hues. The body is dirty-whitish, with a dark linear dorsal line,
a dark dorsal discoloration behiud the head, auother in the middle of the body, and
a third near the end.
The body is hairy, though not densely so ; ou each segment are four dorsal tubercles
from which radiate short dusky hairs; on the side is a larger and longer tubercle
from which arise lateral very long hairs, being as long as the body is broad ; some
black hairs are mixed with the dirty-whitish ones. The larger and most of the
shorter hairs are simple, not barbed, but theshortest, smallest hairs are finely though
INSECTS INJURING OAK LEAVES. 133
slightly barbed, the barbules short. The tubercles are dirty-white, concolorous with
the rest of the body. Length, 13mm.
Moth.— A small frail form, withciliate antennae, no ocelli, and long dependent palpi,
their second joint thickly scaled. Fore wings grayish- white, with the inner line black,
fine, angulated. Outer line denticulate, followed by a pure white shade. A pure
white shade in the place of the subterminal. Hind wings dusty white. Beneath,
the fore wings are pale fuscous, immaculate ; hind wings whitish, with a discal dot.
Expanse of wings, 16mm. (Grote, Can. Ent., vn, 221.)
182. Seirarctia echo (Abbot and Smith).
This is a southern moth, whose caterpillar lives on the ground oak,
persimmon, and several other kinds of trees. uIt formed its web May
31; one came out the 23d of August, but the rest remained in chrysalis
till the 14th of April. It is a rare species." (Abbot.)
The moth is white, the veins edged with black, while the abdomen is
spotted with yellowish and black.
183. The oak tussock caterpillar.
Halesidota maculata Harris.
Order Lepidoptera ; family Bombycid^e.
It may be found feeding in September, being a black, very hairy
caterpillar, with yellow and black tufts and yellow on the sides of the
body. The worm spins late in September a yellowish-gray oval cocoon,
constructed of silk, with the hairs of the caterpillar interwoven. The
moth appears the first week in June.
Found feeding on oak, London, Ont., July, 1870. Body black, thickly covered with
bright yellow and black hairs. There is a dorsal row of black tufts from the fifth to
the twelfth segment. Those on the fifth, eleventh, and twelfth are largest. Seg-
ments 5 and 12 have an extra substigmatal one each side.
The same insect was found August 19, 1875, feeding on willow, at Detroit, Mich.
(Riley's unpublished notes.)
The larva. — Cylindrical ; 1.30 inch long. Head large, slightly bilobed; black, with
a faint white streak down the front as far as the middle, where it becomes forked.
Body above black, thickly covered with tufts of bright yellow and black hairs. On
the second, third, and fourth segments the hairs are mixed, yellow and black, those
of the second and third segments overhanging the head. From the. fourth to the
eleventh segments, inclusive, is a dorsal row of black tufts, the largest of which are
on the tenth and eleventh segments ; the fourth and eleventh segments have also a
black tuft on each side near the base. The hairs on the sides of the body, from the
fifth to the tenth segments, inclusive, are all bright yellow, while those on the sides
of the twelfth and thirteenth are mixed with black. On the third, fourth, eleventh,
and twelfth segments are a few long, spreading yellow hairs, much longer than those
elsewhere. (Saunders.)
The moth. — Light ocher-yellow, with large irregular light-brown spots on the fore
wings, arranged almost in transverse bands. It expands nearly an inch and three-
quarters. (Harris.)
184. Halisidota edtvardsii Packard.
A Californian species ; the caterpillar is abundant on various species
of oaks, in the neighborhood of San Francisco. The larva, says Mr.
134 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Stretch, is nocturnal in its habits, and in the day-time may be found
crowded into holes ami cavities (generally in families), and often in
places where it seems scarcely possible for them to penetrate. It is
full-fed abont the end of June, and the imago is disclosed during the
latter part of July. The cocoon is composed chiefly of the hairs of the
larva, and, although of considerable density, is but slightly bound to-
gether with silk.
Larva. — Head dark brown, very large ; thoracic legs reddish brown, abdominal legs
tawny. Body stout, depressed, densely clothed with moderately long rich-brown
hairs of uniform Length, gi\ ing the larva a brush-like appearance. The sides of the
body, as well as the head and anal segment, have long silky scattered hairs of a tawny
yellow. Length, 1.50 inches. (Stretch.)
Moth. — Bicolorous, bad-yellow and vermilion. Fore wiugs with rive subhyaline
smoky, transverse bands, margined with black, less oblique than usual. The basal
band eonsists of a small costal spot and an outer median large round spot. Second band
regularly curved, third hardly oblique, waved. The outer ones nearly parallel with
the outer margin. Hind wings transparent except on the pilose inner margin, which
is tinged with vermilion. Abdomen above, iucludiug the base of the anal tuft, ver-
milion. Beneath, pale buff, the costal spot re-appearing. On the costa of the hind
wiugsnear the apes are two dusky square spots, which do not appear on the upper
side. Legs ringed on the femora and tibiae. One ring on the end of the tibiae, and
each tarsus aunulated on the basal half with smoky pale brown. Femora vermilion
beneath. Expanse of wings, 2 20 inches.
185. Halesidota tessellata (Abbot and Smith).
Found August 29, 1872, on laurel oak, a yellow, white tufted Hal-
esidota larva. Others that were found on hickory are probably of Uw
same species. Both, when full grown, are mouse gray, with a darker dor-
sal ridge. Two long black pencils near posterior end and four near the
head, on joints one and two, and six shorter and thinner white ones.
(Riley's unpublished notes.)
1»6. Org yia gulosa Hy. Edwards.
The moth closely resembles the Californian 0. vetusta. 0. gulosa is
always much smaller than O. vetusta; the white spot near the inner
angle is less distinct and the lines on the fore wings are invariably
more clouded and confused. Expanse of wings, .7/3 inch. The cater-
pillar feeds on the oak in California, while 0. vetusta feeds on the lupine.
(H. Edwards.)
The larva. — Ground color, as in 0. vetusta, velvety black; head jet black, without
the yellow frontal line, and with the mouth-parts dull yellow; secoud segment with
the usual complex series of black hairs. Between them are two dark, brick-red
tubercles: third has two orange central tubercles and two brick-red ones on the
sides; fourth has a black central tuft, with two brick-red ones on the sidesof it : the
fifth, sixth, and seventh have each a white central tuft, with two brick-red tubercles
on each side; the eighth, ninth, and tenth each with six brick-red tubercles: the
eleventh has a central tuft of black hairs, directed posteriorly, with two brick-red
tubercles. Anal segment black. From the base of all the red tubercles arise bundles
of black and white hairs, almost wholly white on the sides. Bet ween the seventh and
eighth segments are some bright orange dashes, which marks are also indistinctly seen
on the anterior segments. Food plant. Qaercas, of various species. (H. Edwards.)
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 135
187. Orgyia definita Packard.
Mr. R. Thaxter informs me that this species feeds on the oak. Mr.
Otto Seifert has also bred the insect in all its stages, but as far as I am
aware has not published his description.
Moth. — Female. Umber-brown. Head, thorax, base, and inner margin of prima-
ries more testaceous. A faint, basal, dark, straight, transverse line. Beyond and
near the linear lunate discal spot, which is surrounded by the testaceous brown, is an
indistinct nearly straight line. An outer very distinct curved line, being straight
from the costa to where it is angulated on the fifth subcostal nervule, and again half
way between the discal spot and internal margin. Beyond this line on the costa is
an oblong, dark, well-defined spot, succeeded by a submarginal row of dots, ending
in a white spot near the internal margin. Beneath, lighter. Lines faintly seen be-
neath, the outer one extending faintly onto the secondaries, which have a discal dot.
The markings are much more distinct in this species than in 0. leucosligma, while
the outer line is angulated nearer the middle. Length of body, 9 > 0.60 ; exp. wings,
1.20 inches.
188. Parorgyia achatina (Abbot and Smith).
In their great work on the Lepidoptera of Georgia, Abbot and Smith
state that this caterpillar feeds on various species of oak as well as on
the hickory. " It spun on the 3d of May and the moth came out on the
20th." The moths of both this and the next species are very rare in our
collections, though the caterpillars may be more commonly met with.
18). Parorgyia parallela Grote and Rob.
(Larva in hibernation stage. Plate xxxv, Fig. 3.)
Although I am strongly inclined to consider this species as a syno-
nym of P. achatina Abbot and Smith, yet until we have more specimens
in all stages from the Southern States, the present specific name may
be retained. I have a single small female from Florida, which differs
somewhat from Abbot's figure of P. achatina, aud yet seems to belong
to that species and to agree in many respects with a series of females
of P. parallela in my collection.
Our northern specimens have been bred by Mr. Otto Seifert,* of New
York, and I have received some from Rev. G. D. Hulst, the latter of
which have been pronounced to be P. parallela by him, by Mr. Graef,
and also by Mr. Eoland Thaxter. I have also raised the larva from
eggs received both from Miss Morton, of Newburgh, K Y., and from
a lot of eggs received from Mr. Thaxter and kindly sent by him from
Aiken, S. C.
The males of what I take to be P. parallela (%=P. achatina) and P.
clintonii (=P. leucophcea), are difficult to separate, while the females
are readily separable.
In the male of P. parallela the outer or extradiscal line curves out-
ward before reaching the costa, and then bends inward on the costa;
* See Entomologica Americana, iii, 93.
136 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
also the dark blotch between this line and the apex is narrower and
much less distinct than in the male of P. vlintonii (leucophoea).
The females are readily separated from those of P. leucophoea, as they
lack the large brown patch near the apex of the fore wings.
I have received the eggs of this moth
from Miss Emily L. Morton, of Newburgh,
N. Y., which hatched July 28th. After-
ward, the same season, I received a batch
of eggs from Mr. Koland Thaxter, then in
Aiken, 8. C, where they were laid August
Fig. 42.--Parorgyia parallela, male
(from photographs).
Fig. 43.— Parorgyia parallela, female
(from a photograph).
2d. They hatched in Maine, August 9th to 11th and molted for the
second time August 26th.
It appears that the larva? before the last molt contract in length and
hibernate; spin a cocoon the following July, the moths appearing in
the end of July in New York, and sometimes not until late in August.
Larva— Ut stage. July 2bth. Length 2.5mm. Head rounded, not very large, black,
retracted within the very wide prothoracic segment, which has on each side a large
black tubercle, larger than those on the abdominal segments; between the two
tubercles is a median dark patch. On the two succeeding thoracic segments the
tubercles are small. On each abdominal segment are two dorsal and two lateral black
tubercles on each side. From the tubercles arise loose tufts of tawny brown and pale
hairs, of unequal length, some twice as long as the body, so that the larva looks
somewhat like an arctian or a young Clisiocampa or Gastropaeba, and quite different
from a young Orgyia. On the 5th abdominal segment is a clear pale dorsal space, the
tubercles being absent. The thoracic legs are dark, while the abdominal legs are
long, pale, like the body. August 3d and 4th, shortly before the first molt, the body
became rather wider and flatter, and the hairs not so dense. Length, 3-4mm.
2d stage. — Aug. 6th first molt. Length 4-5nim. The generic characters, i. e., those
peculiar to the final stage of the caterpillar, now begin to reveal themselves. The
hairs arising from the prothoracic segment extend out horizontally over the head and
are very long and finely parted, so as to be feathery, some of them being nearly as
long as the body ; those arising from the end of the body are as long as those in front.
The lateral outstretched hairs have fine long barbs so as to be beautifully feathery,
as on the upright dorsal ones. There is a large, dark, irregular dorsal tuft on the
second and third abdominal segments, and a smaller, but still large and dense, one on
the eighth segment.
On the 6th and 7th abdominal segments is a single median white tubercle, situ-
ated on a dark ground. These two tubercles are highly retractile, and appear to be
homologous with the coral-red retractile tubercles of Orgyia. They are each situated
slightly in advance of the two dorsal tubercles of the same segments. The prothoracic
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 137
segment is still wide in front, as before. Each of the two black conspicuous tubercles
gives rise to a small, black, slender pencil of hairs.
3d stage.— After 2d molt, Aug. 10-12. Length ?mm. The distinctive characters of
the fully grown larva are now apparent. The head is entirely concealed by the
overarching hairs arising from the prothoracic segment. All the hairs are now ash-
gray in hue, except those on a large dark area forming the thoracic tuft and a naked
area on the posterior third of the body, which bears the two whitish retractile papil-
la. There is a large, black, low, dense tuft on the 8th abdominal segment. It is
now a wonderfully beautiful larva, the hairs are so long, soft, and feathery.
4th stage. — After the 3d molt, Aug. 25. Length 12-14mm. not including the protho-
racic pencils, which are now one-half as long as the body. It differs in this stage
chiefly in the longer and larger, more distinct black pencils arising from just behind
the head.
In this stage, represented by Fig. 3 of Plate xxxv, the body contracted in length
and the larva ceased feeding in Maine (the eggs having been mostly laid in Aiken,
S. C), and most of them died. It evidently hibernates in this stage, not probably
completing its transformations until the following midsummer in the Northern States.
In the Southern States it is probably double-brooded.*
bth and last stage.— Length of body, without the pencils, 35mm. From a colored
sketch by Mr. Bridgham of a larva found wandering at Providence July 29, a pair of
long, blackish pencils, but little shorter than those in front, arises from the 9th ab-
dominal segment.
Professor Riley, in some notes on the eversible glands in larvae of
Orgyia and Parorgyia, and on the synonymy of the species (Proc. Ent.
Soc., Washington, vol. I, p. 88). remarks :
" I also exhibit blown larvae of a Parorgyia, which, from the bred specimens, I be-
lieve to be P. leucophcea Smith & Abbott. I have bred one male of this from the larva
feeding on Persimmon. In an endeavor to determine my bred material in this genus,
I have concluded that there are fewer species than have been made by Lepidopterists.
The imagos vary considerably in details of coloration and markings, and it is quite
probable that obliquata will prove to be synonymous with leucophcea. The larva, as
figured by Smith and Abbott, is probably misleading, in having the dorsal tufts too
conspicuously shown on joints 8, 9, and 10, for in my specimens they have been, as in
other species of this genus, large and conspicuous on joints 4, 5, 6, and 7, inclusive,
but far less so on the other joints.
"I also exhibit various blown larvae of Parorgyia clinionii Gr. These vary in the
color of the tufts according to state of growth, and there is also individual variation.
My original specimens were found feeding on honey locust, but I have also found it
on various other plants, as wild plum, elm, etc. Both these Parorgyia larvae show
the same eversible glands, though they are less conspicuous than in Orgyia, on ac-
count of the greater density of the hairs surrounding them. As to the synonymy of
this species, my experience with the adolescent states leaves little doubt that clinionii
is a synonym of achatina Sm. & Abb., and I question whether, with more complete
knowledge, parallela and basiflava and even cinnamomea will not prove synonymous
with- the same species."
190. Parorgyia leucoplma (Abbot and Smith).
According to Abbot and Smith, the caterpillar feeds on the live oak
and other species of oaks. "It spun a thin pale brown web April 20,
in Georgia, and came forth on the wing the 9th of May."
In the male of this species, of which I now regard P. clintonii G. and
* Compare Dr. Lintner's statements in Entomological Contributions, in, 129.
138 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Rob. as undoubtedly a synonym, the extradiscal line is nearly straight
near and on the costa; and there can be Been the same dark brown
streaks in the brown BUbapical patch, which are so marked and dis-
tinctive in the female. I can recognize this patch, with the points sent
outward from it, in Grote and Robinson's excellent colored figure, as
well as in oue of my specimens. The females of /'. leucoplHva (and
clintonii), of which I have a small one from Florida, are at once dis-
tinguished Irom those of P. achatina by the outer line endiug more
obliquely ou the costa. Just beyond this line and extending towards
the apex are three dark brown longitudinal patches, with the spaces
between filled up with brown, the whole forming a large, conspicuous
dark brown patch, with ragged edges or points extending towards the
outer margin of the wing. 1 have a male of 1\ clintonii which has
been compared with one in Mr. Thaxter's collection, named for him by
Mr. Grote; also one so labeled given me by Mrs. C. H. Fernald; also
one so named raised by Mrs. A. T. Slosson from a larva found at Fran-
conia, N. EL, feediug on Hamamelis the second week in June. It re-
mained, she kindly informs me, nineteen days in the cocoon, the moth
appearing from June 27 to 30. It seems probable to me that P. ban-
flava Pack., P. obliquata G. and R., and P. cinnamomea G. and R. are
synonyms of P. clintonii. and that the latter is the same as P. lencophaa
of Abbot and Smith. Unfortunately we do not know the appearance
of the larva of this species except from Abbot's drawings, as it has not
since his time been described and figured.
191. The European gipsy moth.
Ocneria dispar (Linn.).
Plate xxxvu.
This insect, originally introduced from Europe through an accident
by Mr. L. Trouvelot while living in Medford, Mass., about the year 1868
or 1869, has become acclimated, and during the summer of 1889 caused
u very great alarm," being " very destructive" to fruit and shade trees,
including the " linden, elm, birch, beech, oak, poplar, willow, hornbeam,
ash, hazel-nut, larch, fir," etc. It is a destructive insect in Europe.
The information here given is taken from an illustrated pamphlet pub-
lished in 1889 by Prof. C. H. Fernald, entomologist of the Hatch Ex-
periment Station at Amherst, Mass., who recommends showering the
trees with Paris green in water (1 lb. to 150 gallons) soon alter the
hatching of the eggs in spring.
Eggs.- -Globular, about ^Vincli in diameter, salmon colored, smooth, and laid often
to the number of 400 or 500, early in July, on the under side of the branches or on
the trunks, or on fences and on the sides of buildings. They do not hatch until the
following spring.
Larva, — Length, 1.75 inches. Body very dark brown, or black, finely reticulated
with pale yellow. There is a pale yellow line along the middle of tLe back, and a
Similar one along each side. On the first six segments behind the head there is a
bluish tubercle armed with several black spines on each side of the dorsal line, and
on the remaining segments these tubercles are dark crimson red. Ou the middle of
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 139
the 10th and 11th segments there is a smaller red tubercle notched at the top. The
whole surface of the body is somewhat hairy, but along each side the hairs are long
and form quite dense clusters.
Pupa. — From £ to 1 inch long, varying in color from chocolate to reddish brown.
Moths. — The male is very much smaller than the female and with broadly pectinated
antennae. It is of a yellowish-brown color, with two dark brown lines crossing the
fore-wings, one at the basal third, the other on the outer third, somewhat curved,
and with teeth pointing outwards on the veins. The outer end of all the wings is
dark brown. A curved dark brown spot (reniform) rests a little above the middle of
the wing, and a small round spot of the same co?or (orbicular) is situated between
this and the base of the wing, just outside of the inner cross line. A similar spot
rests near the middle of the base of the wing. The fringes on the fore-wings are
dull yellow sh, and broken by eight brown spots. The antennae are strongly bipec-
tinated, or feather-like. The fore- wings expand about an inch and a half.
The female is pale yellowish white, with dark brown cross-lines and spots similar
to those of the males. The cross-lines in both sexes are much darker and more prom-
inent on the forward edge of the wings (costa) than elsewhere. In some specimens
there is a faint stripe of brown across the middle of the wing (median shade), and a
toothed line across the wing near the outer edge (subterminal line). The fringes of
the fore-wings have eight dark spots between the ends of the veins, as in the males,
and similar but fainter spots often occur in the fringes of the hind wings. The body
is much stouter than in the males, and the antennas are not so heavily feathered.
The expanse of the wings is from If to 2f inches.
192. Lagoa crispata Pack.
Although this caterpillar has been raised from the raspberry by the
late Mr. G. A. Shurtleff, near Boston, we have found it common on the
scrub oak in Providence as late as October 1, some specimens before the
last molt occurring September 20 to 27. This curious woolly caterpillar
will attract attention from its peculiar appearance.
As we have elsewhere stated, the cocoon is rather long, cylindrical ;
its texture is dense, being formed of the hairs of the larva, closely
woven with silk. When the pupa, which is very thin, is about to
transform it escapes from the cocoon, as the cast skin is found with the
tip of the abdomen remaining in the cocoon. In this respect the moth
is a connecting link between the groups represented by Orgyia and
Limacodes.
Full-grown larva. — Body short, broad, and flat, head deep honey-yellow; jaws
darker; the head very retractile within the large prothoracic segment, whichis large
and fleshy, produced down around the face like a hood, so as to entirely envelop the
head, so that it is not seen while eating, with a large V-shaped incision in front. The
body densely covered with hairs, so that the caterpillar appears about one-half as
broad as long, rounded at each end, the hairs very long and curly ; those on the
thoracic segments mouse-gray; all the rest behind a uniform pale fawn-brown, some-
times above a dark, rich orange-ochero.us ; a slight dorsal broad crest, a subdorsal
broad ridge, and the hairs spread out on the side, but everywhere so long and dense
as to entirely conceal the head and body. The sides are mouse-gray as above, but
the lateral hairs are not to be seen from above. The body is pale whitis'i yellow, the
thoracic and abdominal legs also pale dull yellowish white. The first pair of thoracic
legs are smaller and nearer together than the others, while there is a pair of rudi-
mentary abdominal legs on the second and seventh abdominal segments. Length,
20-32mm; breadth, 10-15,nm ; height, 7mm.
140 FIFTH REPORT OP THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
I. ana before laxt molt. — Body as in the adult, but smaller, and the hairs are thinner
and looser and about twice as LoDg and very much finer. The body can be seen
through them and the fine cottony hairs can be Keen to arise in dense verticils from
small mammilla), which ace Borland white like the rest of the body, or pale tawny
Oeherona, a bile all the thoracic segments bear slate-colored hairs above. Behind each
Spiracle is an erect long conical acute tlcshy projection, concealed by the hairs; the
eighth Segment has no such projection; the prothoracic spiracles are on the suture
very near the inesothoracic segment, which have a similar but rounded and slightly
chitinous projection in front of them. Length, 'JO1'""; breadth, lO""" ; height, 10mm.
(Compare also the full account of the transformations of this moth by Dr. Lintner,
Ent. Coutr., ii, 138.)
193. Lagoa opercularis (Abbot and Smith.)
FlG. ii.- Lagoa opercularis, larva.— After Kiley.
"
Fig. 45. — Lagoa opercularis, cocoon.— After
Hubbard.
Fig. 46.— Lagoa opercularis, moth, natural
size. — After Hubbard.
The following account of this interesting insect is taken from Mr.
Hubbard's Keport on Orange Insects:
The caterpillars of this moth are covered with long, siljey hairs, underneath which
are concealed shorter, stiff hairs, exceedingly sharp at the points and powerfully
nettling when they penetrate the flesh. Upon some persons the invisible wounds
made by these hairs produce swellings and an amount of irritation equivalent to a
sting; the larvae are, in consequence, popularly supposed to be very poisonous. When
young the caterpillars are white and resemble a flock of cotton wool. They undergo
six molts, at one of the last of which they become darker, the color varying in indi-
viduals from red-brown to light-clay color.
Tht' cocoon is placed in a crotch of the tree or upon a branch of considerable size;
it is 20m,n (eight-tenths inch) long, oval, convex, flattened on the side next the tree,
and fastened very firmly to the bark. The upper end is abruptly truncate, and fitted
with a hinged trap-door, which is readily pushed open from within by the escaping
moth, but does not yield to pressure from without, and is so accurately fitted that no
tell-tale crack can be discerned. Upon the back of the cocoon is an elevation formed
by the meeting of several folds and ridges, forming a marvelously exact imitation of
a winter bud. The ends of a lock of hair from the body of the caterpillar counterfeit
the down which in nature protects the dormant bud. The substance of which the
cocoon is made is a tough parchment, composed of agglutinated silk, in which is
felted the loug, hairy covering of the larva. Its color is a neutral brown, closely ap-
proximating to that of the bark upon which it is placed. The entire arrangement is
a most successful representation of the stump of a small branch broken off near its
junction with the main stem, and upon which is plainly shown the swelling of a bud.
Life-history. — The larva is a very general feeder, and although the oak appears to
be its principal food plant, it is occasionally injurious to the orange. It never injures
the bark or tender shoots, but subsists only on the mature leaves.
There are two broods, one in early summer and the other in the fall. The larvae of
the second brood form their cocoons in November or December, and in them pass the
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 141
winter, not changing to pupa until the following March or April, or about two weeks
before the moths appear.
The same parasites have been bred from Lagoa as from the Orange Dog. Tachina
flies have issued in June from a cocoon found on the orange in March. The hymenop-
terons parasite Chalcis robusta issued September 15 from a cocoon collected August 27.
Larva. — The larva presents the singular appearance of a lock of hair possessing
sluggish life and a gliding, snail-like motion. It is 1£ inches long, bluutly rounded
in front and diminishing rapidly to a point behind. The hair rises in a sharp ridge
upon the back, and forms several tufts of rust-red color.
Moth. — Body very woolly, pale yellow, tinged with brown. The fore-wings are um-
ber-brown at the base, fadiug to pale yellow outwardly ; the surface is marked with
fine wavy lines of silver gray, and the fore margins are nearly black. The legs are
yellow, with dusky feet. The wings of the male moth spread about one inch ; those
of the female an inch and a half.
194. Lacosoma chirodota Grote.
The following account of this insect is copied from Professor Riley's
notes. It is very rare and of curious habits, and like the succeeding
species never likely to abound sufficiently to be injurious.
Larvae of this insect were found in Virginia in September, feeding on the oak. It
is a true case-bearer, resembling very much Perophora melsheimerii, differing, however,
principally in the absence of the long antennae-like horns. Its general color is yellow-
ish-green; the head is brown, with yellow markings, and is coarsely rugose and
punctured. Each side of the thoracic segments are two more or less confluent, brown,
subdorsal lines, and on the last segment are some rather indistinct pale-brownish
markings. Thoracic legs reddish-yellow. Stigmata black, with pale center. The case
is constructed of a single leaf, which is bent longitudinally, the edges turned upward
and held in place by a strong white web. This case is suspended by some threads and
fastened to the surrounding leaves, and the larva issues partly when feeding, but
retreata suddenly when disturbed. The case is open at both ends, so that the larva
can turn and feed from which end it pleases.
Since the last of November they have ceased feeding, but did not transform to the
pupa till the 28th of the following January, when they were noticed to change the
position of their case and to suspend it in another place. The moth issued the 10th
of February. The same insect was also received from Miss M. Murtfeldt, Kirk wood,
Mo.
It is interesting to compare this larva with that of Perophora, and the
following description, in addition to that given above, I have drawn up
from Professor Riley's alcoholic specimen :
Larva. — Head large, about as wide as the prothoracic segment, but not so wide as
the body, which is thickest in the middle. Head brown, slightly marbled with a paler
hue. Prothoracic segment with a lateral reddish-brown stripe, which is continued
upon the succeeding segment, but becomes more diffuse ; below are two short unequal
reddish lines; there are no markings on the rest of the body. Body moderately long
and obtuse at the end ; the supra-anal plate unusually large, broad and rounded,
with six long marginal hairs. All the abdominal legs short and thick. Spiracles
very distinct and visible from above. Antennae minute, of the usual size, not elon-
gated as in Perophora; otherwise the larvae of the two insects are very similar.
Length, 23mm.
Moth. — This moth seems to connect the true Psychidae with Perophora. It resembles
this last named genus in its broad head, the broadly pectinated antennae, the general
form of the subfalcate wings, aud in its coloration. As in Perophora, it has but a
142 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
single outer line common to both wings, and a disc*] dot upon each wing. Wings and
body dark yellowish-brown; fore wings with two undulating blackish median bands.
theoater the broader ami more distinct, both extending across the hind wings; a
round black disosJ dot. Expanse Of wings, -J.") to ^U'1"".
195. MBLSHEIMER'e SACK-BEABKB.
Perophora meteheimerii Harris.
This rather singular insect ranges from Massachusetts to Missouri
and southward to Georgia, as I possess a colored drawing of it made
in that State by the elder Le Conte. 1 have observed it in Providence
early in October. It has been figured in its larval and adult state by
Harris, who has given an extended and interesting account of it. The
following additional notes are copied from Riley :
August 28, a larva of this moth was found feeding on oak in Missouri ; others were
taken iu southern Illinois. The larva is very active and savage, when disturbed]
turning with great ease in its case and attacking the intruder. Moth from larva
received iu fall of 18/4 issued February 25, 1875, and laid eggs. The eggs are bright
yellow, quite large for the insect, and very slightly glued to the sides and cover
of the cage in which the moth was confined. At first the eggs are very soft, but
in a few days become very tough. They were unfertilized. (Riley's unpublished
notes.)
Larva. — Head with long, slender clavate appendages, bulbous at the end; the
head is large, full, rounded, as wide as the prothoracic segment. Body thicker than
usual, somewhat sack-like, thickest a little behind the middle, and truncated at
the end ; the unusually large supra-anal plate is rounded and convex on the dorsal
surface. Spiracles so situated as to be visible from above, large and distinct ■; five
pairs of short, almost rudimentary, abdominal feet ; much shorter than in Lacosoma.
Head dark brown, as is the prothoracic segment, the two hinder segments paler; a
diffuse lateral stripe along the thoracic segments; rest of the body pale brown.
Pupa. — Very stout and thick, of the usual shape, but with no cremaster, this being
represented by two short, flattened projections; across the abdominal segment a
double dorsal row of spines. Length, 21mm.
Moth. — Rather large, in shape and size like the Chinese*silk-worm ; male with
broadly feathered antenna1 : reddish-gray, finely sprinkled with black dots; hinder
edge of hind wings and the under side of the fore wings tinged with tawny red. A
small black dot near the middle of the fore wings, and both the tore and hind wings
crossed by a narrow blackish band, beginning with an angle on the front edge of the
former and passing obliquely backward, ending a little beyond the middle of the
inner edge of the hind wings. It expands about 2 inches.
196. The cylindrical baskkt worm.
Psyche confederate Grote and Robinson ?
The following notes on this insect have been given us by Professor
Riley. We append the original description of the moth.
A rather curious bag worm, carrying its case almost perpendicular, was found on
the oak, June 14. Fastened to cover of breediug-case preparatory to transforming
June 24, and emerged as moth July 16.
The case differs from that of Platoeceticus (jlovcrii Pack, of Florida, in
being cylindrical, not oval. (See Glover's figures, in Packard's Guide
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES.
143
to the Study of Insects, on which our description was based.) From
specimens of P. gloverii it seems to differ in the hind wings being less
rounded, more produced towards the apex. They ap-
pear to be of nearly the same size.
Moth. — Male entirely deep smoky black. Antennae plumose.
Wiugs ample, closely scaled, rounded and full. Neuration of pri-
maries : costal nervure simple ; slight, joining the costa before the
apex : S. c. nervure throwing off first and second s. c. nervules from
its upper side ou to the costal margin ; third s. c. nervule at the up-
per extremity of the discal cell furcate, throwing off the fourth s.
c. nervule from its lower side on to the apex; fifth simple, thrown
off from a short tr insverse stem on to the external margin ; discal
cell equilateral, longitudinally cordate, not closed by a true vein,
but by a vein-like fold depressedly medially augulated; a slight crease in the
membrane divides the cell into two equal parts, running from the point of angu-
lation of the fold, closing the cell to the base of the wing; median nervure four
branched, first median thrown off upon external margin from a point opposite the
fifth s. c. nervule; internal nervure sending off an augulated nervule from its upper
side, at about its center, to iuternal angle ; the nervure itself joins the margin before
the angle, and is straight. The male cocoonet with agglutinated fragments of con-
iferous plauts, and with the extruded skin of the chrysalis after the escape of the
male moth, accompanied a number of specimens of this species received from the
South. Expanse of wings, male 19mm. Length of body, 7mm. (Grote and Rob.)
Fig. 47.— Case of
Psyche confederate
(after Grote).
197. The eight- flapped slug-worm.
Phobetrum pithecium (Abbot and Smith).
Order Lepidoptera ; Family Bombycid^e.
A singular dark-brown short, broad, ovate, flattened caterpillar, with eight long
tongue-like, slender, fleshy lateral appendages, sometimes feeding ,pn the oak.
This siugular caterpillar, usually found ou the plum, cherry, and
apple, changes to a brown moth with very narrow wiugs. In the male
the antenna) are very broadly pectin-
ated, and the remarkably long nar-
row fore wiugs are partly transparent.
Mr. Lintner has bred it from the oak,
and Mr. S. Lowell Elliott tells me that
it is almost exclusively an oak-feeder?
though occurriug on the wild cherry
and chestnut. The following ac-
count is copied from Mr. Hubbard's
" Orange Tnse ts."
This insect receives its name from the curious hairy appeudages which cover the
back and project from the sides of the larva, and have a backward twist, like locks
of disheveled hair. These are, in fact, fleshy hooks, covered with feathery, brown
hairs, among which are longer, black, stinging hairs. The cocoon is almost spherical,
like that of the Saddle-back caterpillar, and is defended by the hairy appendages
which the larva in some way contrives to leave upon the outside. These tufts give
to the bullet-shaped cocoon a very nondescript appearance, and the stinging hairs
afford a very perfect protection against birds and other insectivorous animals.
Fig. 48— P. pithecium (after Riley); A. co-
coon— natural size (after Hubbard).
144 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Unlike the preceding species, the Hag-moth larva} do not seek to hide away their
cocoons, but Attach themto leaves and twigs fully exposed to view, with, however,
such artful management as to surroundings and harmonizing colors that they are of
all the group the most difficult to discover. A device to which this iosect frequently
resorts exhibits the extreme of instinctive sagacity. If the caterpillar can not find
at hand a suitable place in whic h to weave its cocoon it frequently makes for itself
more satisfactory surroundings by killing the leaves, upon which, after they have
become dry and brown in color, it places its cocoon.
Several of these caterpillars unite together, and selecting a long and vigorous im-
mature shoot or leader of the orange tree they kill it by cutting into its base until it
wilts and bends over.
The leaves of a young shoot, in drying, turn a light tan-color, which harmonizes
most perfectly with the hairy locks of the caterpillar covering the cocoon. The lat-
ter is, consequently, not easily detected, even when placed upon the exposed and
upturned surface of the leaf.
Larva.— The larva is 15mm (six-tenths inch) long and has an oval body, over which,
however, the flattened and closely applied appendages form a nearly square shield.
Moth. — The moth has body and legs of purple-brown, with ocherous patches on the
back and a light yellow tuft on the middle pair of legs. The abdomen is sable, end-
ing in a tuft of ocherous scales. The fore wings have the colors of the thorax finely
mingled, as in graining. The hind wings are sable, bordered with ochreous in the
female. The fore wings of the male are long and narrow, the hind wings short and
very triangular. Both pairs are, in this sex, partly transparent.
The spread of wings varies in this moth from 20 to 24mm (eight-tenths inch to
ninety-six hundredths inch. Hubbard).
198. Euclea querceti (Herrich-Schaeffer). (Limacodes cippus Harris).
This is said by Abbot to feed on the oak, the dog- wood, and other trees.
It makes its cocoon in September, the moth appearing the next July.
Larva. — Body oblong-oval, with a broad dorsal flat ridge, bearing on the edge in
front four large, and near the end of the body the same number of large, spinulated,
fleshy, loug conical green tubercles, and between them four pairs of short ones. Be-
tween them are four black square spots, giving a checkered appearance to the ridge.
The sides of the ridge, the surface of which is not hollowed, fall away rapidly to the
lateral row of eleven fleshy tubercles. At the end of the bmly are four stout black
subcorneal dense tufts of dark brown spinulated hairs. Body of a peculiar pale
glaucous green ; between the two rows of tubercles is a rowr of nine roundish polygo-
nal contiguous spots of the same hue as the rest of the body, but edged with blackish.
Length, 15mm.
Moth. — Cinnamon brown ; upon and beneath the median vein are two confluent
green spots margined with a row of white and brown scales; between them is a large
notch filled in with rust-red. These two spots are contiguous to three subapical
spots, the middle one of which is triangular and largest, and beyond it is a rather
narrow rust-red blotch. Discal dot very distinct, ovate, brown.
199. Parana chloris (Herrich-Schaeffer).
The larva of this fine moth was first found by Beakirt on the chest-
nut in September. According to Andrews (Psyche, ii, 271), it feeds on
the oak (Quercus), on the pear tree, on wild cherry (Prunus), and on the
wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) in September. Mr. Elliott has reared it
from the elm, and Mr. Wetherby mentions the following as its food
plants: Oak, pear, cherry, and tartarean honeysuckle. The moth ap-
pears in May and June, according to latitude.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 145
Larva.— Onisciforni, 19mm long. Head purplish-brown. Four purple and three
white lines drawn very close together form a dorsal band running the length of the
body. Subdorsal line bright red, from which arise six red spines (longest on central
segments) studded with yellowish-red spinelets; betweeu the spines and on the fifth,
sixth, eighth, and ninth segments are reddish spiny warts. The spines and warts
are on elevated ridges. Beueath the subdorsal line are two pairs of purple longi-
tudinal lines on a yellowish ground ; the pairs divided by
a red line. The breathers [spiracles] are on a similar red
line, and are guarded or ornamented by spiuy warts, like
those meutioned above. Legs of a sort of yellowish-olive
color, prolegs, or rather tubercles, and under side of body
of a reddish tinge. Varies considerably; one very beau- T' ^J
tiful variety has all the red of the typical larva replaced by Fig. 49.— Parasa chloris.
brimstone yellow. (W. V. Andrews.)
Cocoon. — About half an inch long, spun on the midrib of a leaf, oval, shining brown-
ish-black.
Moth. — In general shape like Euclea, but yet quite distinct from it. The species
may be known by its grass-green thorax and the broad grass-green band which
separates the brown margin of the wing from its base. Ground color pale cinnamon-
brown. A broad, short, vertical tuft between the bases of the antennae. Thorax
above, grass-green. Middle green band on the fore wings straight on the outer edge;
within it is slightly excavated and follows the inner edge to the base of the wing.
The hind wings are concolorous with the body, and above are a little paler within the
outer edge. Expanse of wings, .94 inch.
200. Parasa f rater na Grote.
This interesting species, according to MS. notes by the elder Le
Conte, feeds in Georgia on the oak, chestnut, aud wild cherry.
Larva. — Length, 16mm ; September 3 aud 4. The body is oblong-square, and seen in
section subtrapezoidal, the dorsal surface being in general flattened, though still
somewhat convex; the dorsal area being from one-half to two-thirds as wide as the
creeping disk or uuderside of the body. The body ends in a long, slender, fleshy
projection or tail, which is somewhat spinose and slightly forked at the end. Along
each side of the dorsal surface is a row of short, thick, retractile tubercles, bearing
peculiar stout spines, which are whitish tipped with brown at the end. The third pair-
from the head is situated apparently on the second abdominal segment, and is twice
as large as the others ; those on the eighth abdominal segment are much larger than
the other abdominal tubercles, which are minute; the short spines on this pair are
whiter than those on the other tubercles. A brown line externally washed with a
paler hue bounds the sides of the back. There is a lateral row of small spine-bear-
ing tubercles arouud the edge, the middle of each tubercle being raised or convex.
The spiracles are minute, white, somewhat elevated, and situated on a darker round
area. Low down between the two rows of tubercles is a row of smooth kidney-
shaped depressed spots. The head is of a chestnut color, the labrum paler. The
under side, or disk, is pale flesh color, edged above with a reddish stripe, which
becomes reddish-brown above. The body still higher up is of a rich velvety, dark
flesh-red brown, some individuals being much darker than others. The under side
of the "tail" is carneous, becoming reddish above, and dorsally of a rich brown,
with the spinules blackish, or pale at the base and brown-black at the tips.
Moth. — P. f rate ma differs from P. chloris in being smaller, while the prolongation
of the broad green band in the fore wings along the inner margin to the base of the
wing is very much, at least two-thirds, narrower. The larva, judging by several
5 ENT 10
146 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
specimens belonging to the two last stages, differs remarkably from that of chlori8y
baring almost nothing in common ; as regards the larvie alone, the two species would
wen to be genexfenlly separated.
The preceding description was drawn up from specimens kindly sent
by Miss Morton.
THE SADDLE-BACK CATERPILLAR.
201. E/mpretia 8timulea Clemens.
While the singular caterpillar of this moth feeds on a variety of
. it has been found by Mr. S. L. Elliott to occur on the oak, though
it is nowhere a particularly common insect.
According to Clemeus, it feeds on a great variety of plants; i. e.,
fruit-trees, the rose, Iudiau corn, etc.
The caterpillar is of strange form, being short and thick, with two
large spiny tubercles iu front and two behind. On the back is a large
square greeu patch like a saddle-cloth, while the saddle is represented
by au oval purplish-brown spot. The hairs fringing the sides of the
body sting severely. Clemens, who describes this insect (Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Phila.), says that the caterpillars " produce an exceedingly
painful sensation when they come in contact with the back of the hand,
or any portion of the body ou which the skin is thin." The larva' do
not seem to seek cover, and are probably distasteful to birds ou account
of their nettling hairs.
Fig. 50.— Empretia stimulea : a. moth (after Hubbard): b. larva (after Riley) (all hauual size).
"The cocoons are short, oval, almost globular, flattened against the
branch to which they are attached, and are of the same tough, parch-
ment-like material and brown color as in Lagoa. They are usually
placed in concealment, often against the main trunk of the tree, at or
near the surface of the ground. The larva before pupating cuts a cir-
cular flap at the end, making an opening nearly equal to the entire
diameter of the cocoon, through which the moth makes its escape by
pushing open the door from within." (Hubbard's Orange Insects.)
Larva. — Very short and broad, about an inch long and one-third as broad ; with
a pair of short tubercles on two of the thoracic segments, and four short ones at the
end of the body; a pair of very large, fleshy tubercles like horns on the first and
eighth abdominal segments, which are longer before the last molt than after-
wards. Body brown, but green above between the two pairs of lar«:e tubercles, in-
closing a central purplish or reddish-brown spot, bordered with white, the latter
edged with a black line.
JC X LLC OCgUACLlLO dl
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 147
J/of/j. — The shape of body aud wings are well represented by Fig. 50. The general
color is a rich, dark, velvety reddish-brown. The only markings on the fore wings
are two twin golden dots, nearly united to form a short line near the apex of the
female, while in the male there are two more near the base of the wing beneath the
median vein. Hind wings pale reddish-brown : expanse of wings, 36mm.
202. The skiff caterpillar.
Limacodes scapha Harris.
This is a singular boat-shaped triangular caterpillar, green, spotted
above with browD,pale beneath, the sides raised and the dorsal surface
flattened ; forming in the autumn a tough rounded oval cocoon, covered
by an outer thin envelope ; the moth appears in June. It also occurs on
tbe hickory and wild cherry.
Larva. — Gronnd-color pale apple green. The segments extended laterally in the
middle of the body, and raised into an elevated ridge, sharp and angular at the
edges. The flattened portion, which includes the dorsal region, is chestnut browu^
darker on the margins. There is also a darker dorsal stripe. The segments are
arranged like the plates of a tortoise. The latter region is
of a pale yellowish-green, with an oval white spot on seg-
ments 9 and 10. Spiracles pale brown, mouth-parts also
brown. In some specimens the brown color of the back
*s reduced to small patches, and occasionally a yellow dor-
sal line is present, the grouDd color (.pale green) then pre.
vailing. Length, 0.85 ; width, 0.25 inch. Food-plant, wild _. r.*"
° ° ' ' r Fig. 51.— Limacodes gcapha.
cherry. (H. Edwards and Elliott.) ^at 8ize
Moth. — It is light cinnamon brown ; on the fore wings the
costo-median region is filled in wirh a large tan-brown triangular spot, ending on the
tip of the wing, and is lined externally with silver. Expanse of wings, 26 to 28mm.
203. Limacodes biguttata Packard.
We have bred this species from a larva found upon the oak, October
7, at Providence, E. I. The caterpillar agreed with Harris' description
and figure of L. scapha in his Correspondence, and I referred it to that
species, but the moth, which appeared June 1, proved to be the present
species. There also occurred on the oak at Brunswick, Me., a larva
like that of L. scapha, but the elevated ridges were white ; the body was
green, with no other color. It spun a cocoon August 27, but afterwards
died.
Moth.— A little smaller than L. scapha; of a soft velvety buff-brown ; a whitish
line reaches from the middle of the internal margin across and outward to the mid-
dle line. A short corresponding one from near the costa goes to the middle of the
outer margin, thus making an inverted broad A, inclosing at the internal angle a
roundish red spot ; apex red. Hind wings and under side of the hind body uniform
obscure buff brown. It is a soft, woolly species with thick scales concealing the
veins. Expanse of wings, 25mm.
204. Sisyrosea inornata Grote.
This singular and beautiful slug- worm was first described and figured
in Harris' Correspondence (PI. II, fig. 7 ; III, fig. 6). It also occurred at
Providence on Quercus alba, October 7-9; October 10 it spun a round,
148 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
deuse cocoon, but afterwards died. Another was bred, the moth ap-
pearing June IS. It was a female, and when at rest sat with its tail in
the air, as if standing on its head.
Mr. S. Lowell Elliott assures me that he has bred the moth, which he
has kindly shown me. from this larva.* He tells me that it feeds not
only on the oak, but also on the v>ild plum and cherry, and that it
low feeder.
The following notes on this species have been given by Proft
Riley, who has bred it:
October *24. 1868: Found to-day in Maryland three conchiiopod larva1 feeding on
oak and agreeing with figure in Harris' Correspondence n. T . November '2, i-
Found several of thaw larva-, while sugaring at night, feeding on various plant>.
June 30, 1883: One of the moths issued to-day. July 16, 1683: One more issued.
October 4. l«83: Found two larva.- in Virginia feeding on Q. alba. October 5. 188
Several more were found on Q. alba, Q. rubra, and Alnus incana. October 10, 18G
Two of the larva- have spun up. Found a few more on oak. There is but little
variation in the color of this larva, only in the red spots on the dorsal space ; some of
them are very pale and sometimes the posterior one is absent. From one of the
larva- a Gordius issued. September 29, 1885 : Found one of the larva? on oak : it was
parasitized by a tachiuid, which pupated October 11, 1885, the fly issuing October 16,
1886. Tupublished notes.)
Larva. — Body broad and flat, the prothoracic overhung by the mesothoraeic seg-
ment; the V-shaped iucision so broad as to be almost obsolete, the body bring very
broad: head pale green, a rather narrow median dorsal ridge, contracting in the
middle and widening a little towards each end : it is hollow in the middle, and
along the sides are ten small, narrow, flattened acute conical flaps, edged with green
'sharp spinules. The first pair are short, blunt and red : of the other nine pairs the
anterior ones are the larger. The front edge of the body is thickened, somewhat
revolute, and tinged with red. Along the side of the body, on the thin projecting
edge, is a row often flat, fleshy, triangular flaps, the edges with white, uneven fa
From in front of the base of each flap an oblique sinuous trausverse ridge passes to
the submediau dorsal ridge. There are two rows of scar-like round spots in the
depressions between the lateral ridges, two scars in each depression. The spir
are not visible seen sideways : the larva has to be turned over to discover them:
they are slightly marked and situated under the projecting ridges of the side of the
body. Behind the middle of the dorsal ridge are two red conical tubercles, whose
6harp points nearly touch each other in the median line of the body. Another but
smaller pair of red warts is situated half way between the first pair and the end of
the body. The body is pea-green — a little brighter green than the glaucous under
side of the oak leaf on which it feeds— and a little paler beneath than above.
Length, 15mm: width, Tmm, not including the projections; height, 3..">mm. Described
from a larva found in Providence, R. I.
Moth. — Body rather stout : fore wings with transverse waves or creases due to the
arrangement of the scales, but with no markings ; dull. pale, cinnamon-brown, the
hind wings slightly darker; the fore wings are not so wide as in Limaeodes. aud they
are very slightly subfalcate. Expanse, .90 to 1.20 inches.
■ This and other Limaeodea Lure, most of them colored conspicuously, sutler little
from the attacks of birds, since they are protected by their nettling hairs, rendering
them distasteful. Others, like Lithacodes Jasciola, which feed on the under side of
leaves and are entirely grei -n. escape the observation of their enemies. Phobetron
pithtcimn, on the other hand, mimics a brown, irregular dead patch of a leaf. Another
aid to or means of safety in the smooth-bodies species is their slow gliding motion,
which renders them less liable to be observed by passing birds.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 149
205. Adoneta spinuloides (Herrich-Schaeffer).
(Larva, Plate in, Fig. 7.)
This insect in its larval state is a general feeder, as Mr. Elliott in-
forms me, occurring on the oak, wild plum, cherry, and birch, while
Dr. Clemens reared it from a larva found in September on the apricot.
Miss Morton has found it feeding on the oak, chestnut, English, and
probably, wild cherry.
I am indebted to Miss Emily L. Morton, of Newburgh, N. Y., for the
use of the colored figure of the larva.
Larva. — Body semi-cylindrical, tapering posteriorly, and rounded obtusely in frout.
Nearly smooth, but with a subvascular row of small, fleshy, minutely spined papulae
on each side of the vascular lines, three of which placed anteriorly are separated and
distinct, and three approximated on the last rings ; the intermediate ones are minute.
The outline of the body above the ventral surface is furnished with a row of minutely
spined papulae.
Bright green, with a broad dorsal yellow band, containing a reddish purple one,
which is constricted opposite the second and third pairs of anterior papulae and di-
lated into an elliptical patch in the middle of the body. This is almost separated from
a smaller elliptical patch which is constricted opposite the third pair of posterior
papulae and ends in a small round patch. The anterior and posterior papulae are
crimson and the intermediate ones green. The superventral row of spined papulae are
green. (Clemens.)
Moth. — Reddish-brown, somewhat paler in the female than in the male. Fore wings
with a dingy yellow streak along the base of the inner margin, extending toward the
disk above the middle of the wing, and on this portion are two or three blackish
dots On the hind portion of the disk is a short black streak. In the male there is
another short black streak along the median nervure and its last branch, with a curved,
row of three black, submarginal spots. The lower streak and the spots are as distinct
in the female as in the male. In both sexes there is a subapical dingy yellow patch,
lightly bordered behind with whitish. Hind margin spotted with black. Hind wing
pale reddish brown. (Clemens.)
206. Packardia nigripunctata Goodell.
The caterpillar of this moth was found on the oak by Mr. L. W. Goodell,
of Amherst, Mass. According to his recollection it was oval or boat-
shaped in form, green, with several longitudinal rows of minute white
papillae or spots. The cocoon was round and hard, and the moth
emerged June 20. (Can. Ent. XIII, 30.)
The moth. — Female: Fore wings light bronzy brown; a narrow, oblique, nearly
straight, dark brown band runs from near the inner margin outward to a little be-
yond the middle of the costa, where it is joined at a right angle by another band,
which is short and curved, terminating at about one-third of the distance from the
costa to the inner angle. Between the end of the short band, and a little outward
and above the internal angle, is a curved row of three roundish black dots, of which
the marginal one is three times larger than the inner, and twice as large as the inter-
mediate one. The bands aud spots form a distinct inverted V. Within the area thus
formed and parallel with the inner is a brown line, which extends from the inner mar-
gin to the discal end of the short curved band. This line is a shade lighter in color
than the bands, and is edged outwardly with very pale or whitish brown. There is
a band of the same pale brown or whitish color, which included the black dots and
150 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
extends outside of the short curved band to the costa. It is constricted near the inner
dot, widening rapidly towards the costa, along which it extends towards the base
to a little beyond the middle. Hind wings paler, the apex and outer margin concol-
orous with the fore wings, fringe of all the wings pale silky brown, interlined near
the base with darker brown, and with a black spot on the apex of the fore wings.
Fore wings beneath uniformly a little darker than above. Hind wings beneath innch
as above, but the darker shade of the exterior margin and apex is not so distinct.
The wings above and beneath have the peculiar silken luster common to the genus.
Head, thorax, and abdomen ocherous brown. Legs grayinh brown, the tarsi a little
paler. Length of body, ?""" ; expanse of wings, 20mm. The wings are not so broad
as iu P. geminata and albipunctuta. (Goodell.)
207. Kronwa minuta Reakirt.
According to Reakirt the caterpillar feeds on the oak and chestnut
in August and September, the moth appearing iti June at Philadel-
phia. The caterpillar is closely related to the European slug-worm
Limacodes asellus.
Egg. — Length, £ line, pale green, a black ring near one end, oblong.
Larva. — Length, 2 to 2£ lines ; basal outline elliptical ; a flattened ridge, widened in
the center, extends from head to tail, curving over vertical elevations at the sides,
which gradually diminish before and behind, and terminate at both ends iu a rounded
margin. Around the base a row of small, densely spined papula?, two of which, on
the head, are the most prominent, and colored yellow. The body is smooth, but the
ridge is thrown into thick, fleshy folds ; it is thickest in the middle, whence it dimin-
ishes anteriorly and posteriorly. Greeu ; two bright red lines, of equal length, cross
each other at right angles on the central portion of the upper ridge.
Moth. — Male and female are alike in color, the last being the largest. Fore wings
lustrous, brownish-yellow ; hind wings blackish-brown. Below, testaceous, with a
black shade, and roseate along the costa of primaries. Antennas, thorax, abdomen,
and legs ocherous-yellow. Expanse: Male, 5 lines; female, 5£ lines. (Reakirt .)
208. Datana integerrima Grote and Robinson.
This insect, says Riley in his unpublished notes, like several other
species of Datana, is not confined in its attacks to any one food-plant,
but is injurious to a variety of trees, i. e.. the willow, honey-locust,
thorn, and apple.
The larva. — Length 1.8 to 2 inches and very similar in appearance to D. angusii.
The general color is dull black, of the appearance of India rubber. Sparsely covered
with soft dirty white hair. Four thin sulphur-yellow lines along each side, the lower
one, which is just under the stigmata, being somewhat indistinct on the latter half of
the body, and all being more or less so on the last segment. Venter same color as
above, with three yellow lines, the middle one uninterrupted, except by the prolegs;
the outer ones interrupted in the middle of each segment by a rust-yellow spot,
largest on the feet-bearing segments. Head rather larger than first segment, polished
coal-black, with a suture down the middle and a V-shaped indentation in the center of
the front. The first segment (which is the most striking feature) is of a gamboge or
wax-yellow color, the cervical shield being darker and more shiny. The black be-
tween the second and third yellow lines extends about half way on this segment : that
between third and fourth more than half, aud under the fourth is a black line.
Candal plate almost rouqd and shiny black like the head. Thoracic legs black, with
gamboge or wax-yellow base ; abdominal prolegs same color, with a shiny black spot
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 151
on the outside; anal inferior and of little use to the worm, small, thin, and shiny
black.
When young the larvse are brown or tawny yellow, with white stripes and more
hair.
The larvae go into the ground the latter part of August, and in less than thirty
hou.-s change to a chrysalis.
Pupa. — Eight-tenths of an inch and upwards in length, of the same form and
appearance as that of D. angusii, but neither so dark nor so thickly punctured, and
the four spines at the end are smaller in proportion. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
^foth. — Dark reddish-brown. Anterior wings entire along external margin, thickly
and evenly covered with fine scattered irrorations, with a bright shade extending
along costa centrally and above apical streak. Five transverse dark-brown lines.
The first moderately arcuate, margined within by a paler shade. A central discal
dot. The space between the first and second transverse lines darker. The second
line covers the outer discal dot and is margined outwardly by paler scales, as are the
third, fourth, and fifth lines. The position of all these lines is subject to variation.
The fourth is, as usual, faiuter than the rest and very contiguous to the fifth. Pos-
terior wings very pale, crossed by a rather broad, pale, median shade. Under sur-
face paler than upper, deepening in color towards external margin; fringes dark.
The scales which clothe the head and form the thoracic patch are dark tawny-
brown, deepening in color towards the edges of the thorax. The metathoracic and
lateral hairs are very pale. Abdomen pale, testaceous; and segment concolorous with
the rest. Expanse, male and female, 1.80 to 2.30 inches. Length of body, 0.78 to 1.10
inches. (Grote and Robinson.)
209. Datana contracta Walker.
Mr. James Angus has bred this species, which is confined to various
species of oak, not feeding on other kinds of trees.
Larva.— Head black, shining. Body black, with four lateral broad yellowish-white
stripes ; a fifth is interrupted centrally by the legs, as in D. ministra, but in this latter
species the stripes are darker and slightly narrow, while the larva is larger than
that of D. contracta. The body is clothed with longer hair and is of a deeper black
than in D. ministra. The dorsal swelled portion of the prothoracie ring is similarly
colored, but less prominent and exserted than in its congener. (Angus.*)
Moth. — Luteous tawny. Anterior wings entire, with a brighter shade extending
along the costa centrally and above the apical streak. Profusely and distinctly
irrorate with dark brown scales. Five transverse brown lines. The first oblique,
very slightly arcuate, and margined inwardly with lighter scales. A central discal
dot. The second line curved outwardly at costa, thence running inversely obliquely
to internal margin. This line, which is margined outwardly with paler scales, joins
the first at internal margin in a single specim en before us. A second discal spot.
The third line slightly arcuate at costa, thence running parallel with fourth and fifth
lines to internal margin. The third and fifth distinctly margined outwardly with
paler scales. The fourth, which is quite contiguous to the fifth, is indistinct, and,
in some instances, almost obsolete. Apical streak obsolete superiorly, indistinct.
Fringes bright reddish-brown, the same with the thoracic patch. Posterior wings
very pale, with a paler median shade. Under surface paler than upper, shading to
reddisn-brown towards external margin on anterior wings. The scales which clothe
* The exact references to the place of publication of descriptions (published before
1889) of this and nearly all the other caterpillars noticed in this report may be found
by the reader in Mr. Henry Edwards' useful Bibliographical Catalogue of the described
Transformations of North American Lepidoptera, forming Bulletin No. 35 of the U. S.
National Museum, Washington, 18-9.
152 I'll ill BEPOBT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
the head and form the thoracic patch are bright tiiwiiv-hniwn, becoming darker
towards the edges on the thorax. Ifetathoraeio and lateral hairs concolorous with
posterior wings. Abdomen pale tawny, anal segment darker. Expanse, male and
female, 1.85 Inches. (Grota and Robinson.)
'210. Edtina ulbifron8 (Abbot and Smith).
This is perhaps the most common iiotodontian caterpillar to be found
on the oak. At first the caterpillars are gregarious, but after the tirst
or second molt they begin to scatter over the tree. In Georgia, ac-
cording to Smith and Abbot, the caterpillar "spun itself up in a thin
white web between the leaves October 28, and came out on the wing
the 18th of February. Others spun on the 29th of March, and came
out on the 2d of May. The whole brood feeds together, especially when
small."
Mr. James Fletcher reports that in 1884 the caterpillars appeared in
great numbers and were most injurious to both oaks and maples at
Ottawa, Canada. (Rep., 32.)
It is common on white oaks in Rhode Island and Maine late in August
and through September ; those observed at Providence spinning a thin
cocoon between the leaves early in October and until October 20-28.
October 5 I found some small larva? (probably next to the last molt)
with the stripes straw-yellow instead of orange. The moth appears in
June in the Northern States.
Larva. — Head large, orange-red, swollen, raised towards the apex ; wider than the
thoracic segments, the body increasing in width towards the end, which has a large
swollen orange-red hump on the eighth segment. The body smooth and shining,
with no hairs ; a pair of broad subdorsal yellow lines
inclosing five median black lines on a pale lilac ground.
Below the yellow line are three black lines, with a
second yellowish spiracular line. Anal legs pale or-
ange-red ; all the legs pale orange.
Pupa. — Of the usual form ; the cremaster is very
characteristic ; it is flattened from above, deeply cleft,
\J with tubercles from which arise three or four curved
Fig. 52.— Edema albi/rons (from seta on each side. Length, 0.73 inch.
Packard). Moth. — It is easily recognized by its whitish ash
color, the square apex of the fore wings aud the broad
white costal margin on the outer two-thirds of the wings; this white band
sends a tooth backwards, bounding the upper and outer side of the discal brown
ring, and there is an obtuse tooth between that and the apex : the inner
brown line is curved and sinuous; there is a faint deeply-toothed outer line and a
distinct narrow deeply-scalloped, rich, deep-brown marginal line, the scallop rilled
in with whitish ash scales. Base of the wing inside of the middle line whitish ash ;
hind wing and abdomen uniform ash-slate color; wings beneath of the same color;
costal edge slightly bathed with whitish, with traces of a curved submargiual band,
broadest on the costa and broken up behind. Expanse of the wings, 47mm.
While in Florida in April I collected at Crescent City on the live or water oak a
fully grown caterpillar which I supposed to be Edema albi/rons. Bringing it to Provi-
dence in a tin box, it spun a slight cocoon between the leaves late in April. Dot the
moth did notemerge until September 30. Although the summer was a warm one. and-
the room iu which it was kept had a warm exposure, the moth was evidently re-
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 153
tarded in its appearaDce by a change to a cooler climate. Unfortunately I did not
make a description of the larva.
The moth seems to represent a southern or local variety of this species. It differs
from several specimens of E. albifrons slightly but distinctly; it is smaller and the
white costal band is a Little shorter and broader; inside of the discal spot it is not
oblique, but straight, and the tooth bounding the outer, costal side of the discal
spot is larger, rounder, and fuller, less conical than in E. albifrons. The submarginal
scallops are less curved, and the space in front of the discal spot is filled in more
densely with reddish brown. Expanse of wings. 35mm.
The pupa differs in the cremaster being consolidated, not forked, and the setse are
well developed. Length, 18mm. In a Providence pupa, however, the cremaster is
partly consolidated, only forked at the end, and the six setse are well developed.
The following notes on the early stages of the caterpillar are from
Professor Riley's notes :
When young the larvae feed in a phalanx, as it were, lying parallel on the leaf
and as close together as they can.
Found at Woodstock, September 19, 1867, on the burr oak (Q. macrocarpa) some
full grown and others just undergoing the third molt. When full grown, 1.45 inch
in length, the body being larger on the abdominal than thoracic segments. Ground
color white with a very slight corneous tint, which with the highly polished surface
gives it the appearance of delicate porcelain. A subdorsal and stigmatal chrome-
yellow band on each about .03 diameter. The subdorsal lines are not only thicker but
wider apart on the abdominal than the thoracic segments, and between them, i. e.f
along dorsum, are five polished black longitudinal lines, interrupted, however, at the
sutures and merging into but three on the anterior five segments. Between the two
yellow bands laterally are three other finer polished black lines and below the stig-
matal yellow band several other longitudinal black marks, and one each side of venter.
Stigmata in the yellow band, but being concolorous with it are scarcely noticed.
Venter of the same dull shiny white as the ground color, but a little more glaucous.
Legs and prologs immaculate and also of the same color, the abdominals being large
and swollen above, while the anal legs are small. Head larger than segment one,
free, perpendicular, immaculate, glassy, and of a mixture of coral and yellow.
Distinguishing feature. — Segment eleven with a transverse ridge above, of the
ground color with a band of the same color as the head, with a slight corneous mixt-
ure running transversely along its middle.
Before the last moult it has lost the polished appearance ; the abdominal segments
are not noticeably larger than the thoracic ; the ground color is pure white, while
dorsal and stigmatal bands are sulphur-yellow, and the ridge on segment eleven is
more elevated dorsally and entirely corneous.
Entered the ground during the latter part of September and transformed to chrys-
alids, appearing as moths the following April.
211. Nadata gibbosa Walker.
(Larva, Plate xi, Fig. 6.)
The caterpillar is not uncommonly found on the oak. By the mid-
dle or last of September, in New England (Maine and Rhode Island),
it begins to pupate, not spinning a cocoon, and probably entering the
ground before assuming the chrysalis state. In Providence it occurred
on the white, in Maine on the red oak. In Georgia, according to Smith
and Abbot, it " feeds on the chestnut oak, and other oaks. It went into
the ground October 10 and came out March 15. Another went in June
154 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
1 and came out the 19th of the same month." It is therefore double
brooded in the Gulf States and single brooded in the North. The fol-
lowing notes on its habits have been given by Professor Riley:
A pair of this moth were taken May 2. 1882, from the eggs of which larvae hatched
oil the 9th. They went through their first moult May 15; second, May 22; third,
M;iv 26, and fourth, May 31. Pupated June 12 to 14. The moths issued from June
26 to July 10. Several larvai of this moth were found by heating on oak June 26,
July 10, 1882. This larva is now very plentiful and of all sizes, on several oaks. (Ri-
ley's unpublished notes.)
Dr. Lintner has bred the moth from a larva found feeding on the
maple in New York. The figure on Plate XI was kindly loaned by
him, and is probably the original of the wood-cut in his Eut. Coutr.,
iii, 150.
Larva. — Body green, large, head very large, full, rounded, high towards the ver-
tex, as wide as the body, deep pea-green; the labruin whitish green; mandibles
bright yellow, tipped with black, making them very conspicuous. Body glaucous
pea-green, thick, full, soft, tapering towards the end, and the surface with minute
raised, flattened, more or less confluent granulations. A lateral yellow line formed
of coarse yellow, raised, flattened areas. Spiracles deep red. Supra-anal plate con-
ical, flattened, apex much rounded, the edge colored bright yellow. Thoracic and
abdominal feet pale pea-green ; all concolorous. Length, 33mm, thickness, 6mm.
Moth. — Fore wings broad, apex pointed; male antenna? pectinated to the end.
Body and wings reddish, reddish yellow-brown ; thorax with a high, large, loose
crest. Fore wings with two white twin discal dots, rather widely separated. An
inner and outer narrow, oblique reddish-brown line ; the outer parallel with the outer
margin of the wing, which is slightly scalloped. Fringe dark, the scallops filled in
with white. Hind wings whitish, with a faint outer line. Beneath, uniformly
whitish ; a faint outer line common to both wings ; the costal edge dusted with red-
dish-brown. Abdomen yellowish-brown. Expanse of wings, 48mra.
212. Lophodonta angulosa (Abbot and Smith.)
It occurred on Quercus alba October 7, at Providence, when it began to
pupate, the moth appearing the following June. Abbot and Smith re-
mark that in Georgia it u feeds on the over cup oak and other kinds of
the same genus. Some went into the ground May 30, and came out the
loth of June. Others that went iu the 16th of October remained till
the 20th of April." From this it appears that in the Southern States
this species is double brooded.
Larvae . — Somewhat like Nadata gibbosa, but the head is smaller, and it has no such
supra-anal plate, while the body is smooth, not granulated. Head nearly as wide as
the prothoracic segment, but not so wide as the body; full and rounded; though a
little flattened above, deep pea-green, but concolorous with the body. On the side a
pink line edged above with white extending to base of the antennae. Mandibles green
at base with an orange-red line along upper edge; tips black. A short black line
above at base of antennas. Body noctuiform, tapering towards the anal legs, which
are short and small, no larger than the other abdominal legs, supra-anal plate small,
rounded at the end, not large and conspicuous as iu Xadata gibbosa. Segments not
convex, but the sutures distinct. A faint double median, whitish, somewhat broken
line, the two lines converging and forming oue on the middle of the supra-anal
plate and tinged slightly with pink. A distinct lateral pink line begins on the side of
the head and extends to the eud of the body along the edge of the supra-anal plate.
The line is somewhat finely bordered with brown, and is edged below with white.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 155
The whole body and legs pea-green, slightly darker below than along the back.
Thoracic feet greenish-amber, spotted externally with black. Length, .40mm.
Pupa. — Body full and plump.; of the usual form and color; the end of the abdomen
very much rounded and obtuse, with no rudiment of a cremaster (as it goes into the
ground, not spinning a web), only a rounded knob. Length, 18mm.
Moth. — Thorax and body dark grayish-brown ; thorax with a round black spot on
the hinder edge, encircled by a yellowish-brown line ; abdomen yellowish brown.
Fore wings rounded at the apex, of a quite uniform umber brown ; basal line with a
sharp distinct angle in the median space, the line reddish-brown, broadly shaded ex-
ternally with much paler tawny brown ; on the costa the line is straight, with a
broad external whitish gray shade. Middle line sharply scalloped, -becoming
straight on the costa, with a sharp tooth on the discal fold and a sharp tooth occu-
pying the entire submedian space; the last scallop short, indistinct, ending in a
dark-brown tuft on the middle of the hinder edge of the wing. Outer line wavy but
indistinct. A marginal wavy line. A broad whitish patch exterior to the middla
line extending from the costa to the median vein. Hind wings sable brown, with a
marginal shade and a dark broken band at the base of the fringe. Expanse of wings
213. Schizura ipomece Doubleday (Coelodasys biguttatus Pack.).
The following notes and descriptions are based on an examination of
the material in Professor Riley's collection. The larva occurred on the
oak September 24. In Virginia one was found by Mr. Koebele, on the
birch, September 14, and it has also been bred from the blackberry.
The larva makes an earthen cocoon, regularly oval in shape, covering
it with sand on the outside, so that it closely resembles that of Janassa
lignicola. G. unicornis spins a silken cocoon, with debris collected and
adhering to the exterior. It is evident that C. cinereofrons Pack, is
only a variety of biguttata, there being a series of connecting forms in
Riley's collection. The moth occurred at Cambridge, Mass., June 16,
and in July and August. (Harris.)
Larvae of this species are found from May to October at St. Louis, Mo., feeding
on the different kinds of oak and on maple. The moths issued in April and August.
The coloration of the larvae is quite variable, though the most uniform marking is
as follows: Color, green speckled with purple. A faint substigmatal sulphur yel-
low line, most distinct on thoracic joints. A broad pale subdorsal line, between
which the dorsum is pale lilaceous, but thickly mottled with rich purple brown and
ferruginous, leaving a narrow dorsal line distinctly marked. Two elevated ferrugi-
nous warts on top of joints 4 and 11. Head large, pale green, with a distinct lateral
black and white stripe. (Unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Differs from C. unicornis in the head being purple and having four dark
narrow lines extending from the base of the jaws to the vertex ; the dorsal spine on
the first abdominal segment is nearly three times as large and high as in C. unicornis,
and ends in a deep fork, each tine of which bears a stiff truncated spine. A pair of dor-
sal, rounded, small tubercles on each abdominal segment 1-8, those on the 5th and 8th
segments being much larger than the others and coral red in color. Coloration much
as in C. unicornis, but the branches of the V iQ front of the tubercle on the 8th seg-
ment are wider and inclose a broken red line. Meso- and meta-thoracic segments
green ; body brick-reddish, slashed with pale lines, with a broad dorsal band forked
on the prothoracic segment and extending upon the horn on the 1st abdominal seg-
ment; behind the horn are four dorsal oval light patches, each inclosing three red
lines. Leugth 33mm.
156 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Pupii. — Moderately itoul ; end of abdomen obtuse. The cremaster deeply cleft,
each spine well developed, rather Long, DOt mneb flattened, ending in a point and
throw tag off near the end a short branch which nearly meets its fellow with opposite
•pine. Length 21""".
Mnth. — llviid gray, vertical tuft above black. Thorax reddish-brown, patagia
blackish above. No distinct line on the prothoimx. Primaries reddish-brown, ner-
vulcs black. Base of the costa dark, beyond cinereous with brown scales along the
edge, which become indistinct waved lines continued across the wing and are more
obliqne beyond the dieoal dot. The linear reddish discal dot is surrounded by gray,
and below and beyond is a dark rather broad discoloration curved around it. Beyond
this the black uervuhs are interrupted by gray scales. There are two obscure series
of reddish dots near the margin in the interspaces. Opposite theouter series of these
spots the fringe, otherwise ferruginous, is of a dirty-white. Secondaries white, dis-
colored with smoky at inner angle. The large tuft beneath the head is lilac-ashen.
Beneath, the fore-wingl are white, smoky in the middle. Costo-apical dots distinct.
Fringe white, black at the ends of the nervules, at the base are white dots in the
interspace. Secondaries entirely white, except the dusky spot on the inner angle.
Legs ashen, ends of the scales dark, tarsi broadly anunlated with dark. Abdomen
slender, whitish, a narrow mesial line beneath. In the female the markings are
more distinct. The two series of ferruginous waved lines on each side of the median
region are more distinct. The submarginal ferruginous region is more broken up by
ashen »cales. The secondaries and abdomen above smoky. There are faint traces of
a slight mesial fascia across the wing. Beneath, both wings are dark smoky. Alight
ferruginous line on the abdomen, which is itself larger than" in the other species.
Length of body, male, 90; female, 95; expanse of wings, male, 1.60; female, 1.80 inch.
Coelodasys cinereofrons Pack., as stated by Grote, is undoubtedly
a variety of this species now to be referred to the genus Schizura. The
following notes on the larva of this variety have been received from
Professor Kiley :
June 20, found on oak two very small larvae which entered the ground July 8 and
emerged as moths July 30. Color of larva as follows : Second and third segments grass
green : the horn of the fourth segment is two-forked and the tips blood red, also the
tips of the two smaller horns on joints 8 and 11. The rest of the body and head, red-
dish brown. (Unpublished notes.)
214. Hyparpax aurora (Abbot and Smith).
Larva, Plate III, fig. 6, 6a.
"The caterpillar was taken on the timber white oak, but feeds also
on other species of oak. It went into the ground and inclosed itself in
a thin case of dirt July 15, appearing on the wing August 7. Some-
times this species also buries itself in autumn, and remains till the
spring, at which season the moth may now and then be observed sit-
ting on the oak branches." (Abbot and Smith.)
In New England it is single brooded. The caterpillar, according to
Abbot and Smith's figure, has a double red hump on the first abdominal
segment, with a very broad dorsal green baud between this and the
tubercle on the eighth segment; the anal legs are elevated much as
in Schizura unicornis. The moth has broad yellow fore- wings, in the
female pink at base and on the outer margin.
I am indebted to Miss E. L. Morton for the colored sketches of this
rather rare larva.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 157
215. Janassa Hgnicolor Walk.
(Larva, PI. Ill, fig. 5.)
The caterpillar of this moth occurred on the oak at Providence from
the middle to the last of September. It has been bred by Professor
Kiley. This species is Xylinodes virgata of Packard. The larva is very
characteristic and allied to those of Schizura. In Professor Kiley's
collection are the regularly oval thick earthen cocoons lined with silk,
and about three fourths of an inch in length, the caterpillar transform-
ing on the surface or within the earth.
Larva. — Head not very large, not so wide as the prothoracic segment ; pale, almost
whitish ash-gray; an irregular dark ash band on each aide in front passing up from
the mandibles and meeting on the vertex, where a branch is sent out at right angles,
uniting with its fellow in the median line of the head ; no median line above the
apex of the vertex, but two spurs are sent out above the vertex from each side, which
nearly reach the median line of the head, and inclose a clear round space. Prothoracic
segment pea-green on each side above the spiracle. Meso- and meta-thoracic segments
bright deep pea-green, bordered with reddish below; a long narrow triangular dorsal
light-brown band, slightly forked on the prothoracic segment, extends from the head
to near the base of the large dorsal tubercle on first abdominal segment ; this tubercle
is sensitive and retractile as in the other species of this genus; it is large but not
forked, the end being very slightly cleft, blackish in the middle and each small ter-
minal wart has a dark hair which is bent downward and forward. First to third ab-
dominal segments pale gray and reddish-brown, the first less marbled and watered
with gray than the second and third ; the back of the fourth to ninth segments clear
deep pea-green, with a round sinus in front on the fourth segment, and on the sixth
and front edge of seventh inclosing a watered gray elongated irregular patch. On
the eighth segment a small dorsal tubercle tinted with brown ; the eighth spiracle
much larger and more conspicuous than the others ; around the seventh pair of spira-
cles are clear white patches. The abdominal legs 1 to 4 are thick and fleshy, with a
reddish- brown circular line incomplete above; anal legs small and slender, about
one-third as large as the others. Length 33mm.
Pupa. — Body short and thick; tip of abdomen unusually blunt; cremaster partly
rudimentary, not projecting beyond the tip, and consisting of two widely separate
flattened squarish spines, terminating in two small spines. Length 18mm.
Moth. — Pale cinereous. Pronotal pieces discolored with ligneous brown. Abroad,
median thoracic dusky line, succeeded on the abdomen by a dark spot. Primaries
light ashen with brown scales arranged in streaks, which on the costa proceed ob-
liquely towards the outer margin, ending upon the subcostal nervure. Towards the
apex are two distinct brown streaks, which are parallel to the costa; between and
below the second streak are two whitish streaks. A dark-brown discal dot is placed
upon the lower discal nervule, and beyond it is a brown streak. In the middle of the
discal space is a light line which passes over the discal dot and continues along the
lowest subcostal interspace to near the outer margin. Below the median vein the wing
is slightly tinged with ocherous. Just below the basal portion of the median nervure
is a brown streak, and the internal border is mottled and streaked with dark cine-
reous. The tuft is dark-brown, and the outer edge of the wings is also darker than
the discal portion. There are no transverse streaks. Secondaries white, the costa dis-
closed slightly with cinereous. Abdomen nearly concolorous, being a shade darker
than the hind wings. Beneath cinereous, with a distinct median black line. -Tarsi
broadly annulated with dark. Length of body, .85 ; expanse of wings. 1.75 inch.
Cambridge, female, Lansing, Mich. ; Seekonk, R. I.
158 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
'Jl<>. Loekwunu manteo Doubleday {Utterocampa subalbicans Grotej.
This species ranges from Maine to Texas. During 1880a threat amount
of damage was done to the foliage of oak forests in at least two counties
of Arkansas by this worm, which appeared in immense numbers in Jan-
uary. The following account is taken from Professor Comstock's re-
port (Agricultural Report, 1880) :
There are probably two broods of the variable caterpillar in the course of the sea-
son, although but one, the fall brood, seems to have been noticed. The moths Appear
in the latter part of April or in early May, and between that time and late Septem-
ber, when the principal damage is done by the worms, there is abundant time for two
broods of caterpillars.
In the District of Columbia for the last two years these larvae have been noticed very
abundantly upon oak, hawthorn, and basswood, and doubtless feed upon other plants.
In late September they had reached their full size and entered the ground, where,
as we gather from Mrs. Thomas's letter, they lie most of the winter before transforming.
The most obvious remedy for the injuries of this insect is the destruction of the
larvae by burning the leaves upon the ground in the latter part of September, just as
thf larva' are dropping from the trees. This could probably be done in most places
without danger to the forest and without injury to the mast.
Should the damage done by the worms be sufficiently great to warrant the expense
of trap lanterns to be used in May to destroy the moths, undoubtedly their numbers
could be greatly lessened. For description of trap lanterns, with remarks upon their
use, see page 330 of the report for 1879 (Comstock).
Professor Riley sends us the following notes on its habits and food
plants :
Two larvae of a Notodonta were found feeding on oak and persimmon in Virginia,
June 18, 1882. Another one was found June 20, also in Virginia, feeding on walnut ;
and two more July 19, feeding on oak. (It also feeds on the white, post, aid laurel
oak, and linden). One of the first found larva spun up between leaves July 19, and
another one pupated on the surface of the ground July 21. The first moth issued
August 5 and the other one August 12.
Larvae of a second brood were again fouud August 30 feeding on apple and black
birch, and another full grown one September 3, feeding on persimmon.
October 14, 1870: S. S. Rathvon describes it as injurious to the linden trees,
stripping them and going from one tree to another in the village of Lititz, near Lan-
caster, Pa. They went into the ground about the 1st of September. The specimen
he sent had fifteen large Tachina-tly eggs attached transversely across the end and
third joints. The white margin to the black stripe was missing, and the dark pur-
ple dorsal band extends to stigmata on joints 6 and 9 and to subdorsum on 4 and
11 (box 3, No. 29), also a variety in box 3, No. 53.
October 17, 1870: Bolter found 2 under oak leaves, both of them like that I found
on oak October 2, 1870.
April 30, 1871, one has issued from an exotic oak in Shaw's gardens. The markings
are much more diffused, with a large whitish discal spot ou primaries. That marked
4.->x from burr oak — Muhleman, issued May 2."). 1-71. It is a variety and perfectly de-
ceptive like X unicornis, taking the same tubular position.
Very abundant in 1873. October 12. leaves falling, obtained many from post oak.
Three most persistent forms blown a (4 in cage 12) b (11 iu cage 11) c (1 in cage 10).
July 6, 1-7 1: The imagines have been issuing very irregularly. To-day I sieved
the cages and especially 17. in wnich there were a number of all three forms. They
now are all alike, and the head is the only characteristic part. All the color is
gone from the body, which is now of a uniform Paris green more or leas mottled
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 15&
with a pale and dark shade, the vascular line dark and broken. Many of these are
now crawling about quite actively, while others are in the pupa state and others
issuing. They were all in a very slight elastic silken cocoon.
September 20, 1874 : A number of all sizes on oak, separated into three lots — a in cage
12 ; & in cage 10 ; c in cage 5. They are very variable and there are specimens inter-
mediate between these three forms. Some have the colors very bright and distinct,
and others less so. A lot found on linden, but afterw ards feeding well on oak, are all of
the light form a in cage 13.
November 21, 1874: In sieving the cages containing forms a, b, and c, they were
found still in the larval state, some having made a tough silken cocoon, others one
made only of a few threads, while some had no cocoons at all but had made a smooth
cavity in the earth. In cage 5 were found two large Tachina larvae, certainly from
form c, one of which is preserved in box 7-40. April 10, 1875, one Tachina fly is-
sued marked 359°. One moth issued April 16, 1875, the larva of which was found on
linden, but fed also on oak in cage 13, where there are many more in the ground.
Braconid parasite bred October, 1874. October 26, 1875: Nine from oak all near
form b. (Unpublished notes.)
Full-grown larva — Variety a. — Length, 40mm(l. 50 inches), rather slender, subcylindri-
cal. Head pale green with a deep purplish lateral line bordered below with a pure
white line; dorsum of abdomen bluish-green with a narrow white dorsal line; the
green dorsum is bordered each side by a narrow, scarcely noticeable yellow line run-
ning from the head to the fourth segment, from which point it is purple to the end of
the body ; this line is bordered below by a very distinct pure white subdorsal band ;
the sides are bluish with dark purplish spots ; stigmata orange ; below the stigmata
a faint interrupted yellow band ; the dorsal aud lateral piliferous warts are yellowish ;
subdorsal whitish. The first thoracic segment has two jellow dorsal tubercular spots;
segments 2 and 3 have each a yellow dorsal double wart, and the first abdominal
segment has two quite conspicuous red piliferous tubercles; the penultimate segment
is somewhat gibbous above and bears two small reddish piliferous tubercles.
Variety b. — Head dark yellow; dorsum of body purplish with paler mottlings;
dorsal line white; the subdorsal white line interrupted on abdominal segments 3 and
6; the sides rather browner than the dorsum; lateral line yellow and more distinct
than in variety a. Stigmata orange ; the first thoracic segment has the yellow tuber-
cle, but segments 2 and 3 have only the lower one of the double tubercles yellow. In
other points it resembles variety a.
Variety c. — Head very pale yellow; dorsum pale grayish; dorsal white line bor-
dered each side by a narrow purplish line. The subdorsal band consists of a narrow,
purple line, an indistinct yellow line, aud a broad white band; the subdorsal lines
approximate on the thoracic segments as in other varieties; the lateral line is yellow,
distinct, and uninterrupted; sides slightly darker than the dorsum aud specked with
purplish spots. (Comstock, U. S. Ag. Report for 1880.)
217. Heterocampa pulverea Grote and Robinson.
Order Lepidoptkra ; family Bombycuxe.
Professor French has reared this caterpillar, which occurred in Union
County, 111., June 30 ; July 6 it went into the dirt of the breeding-cage
to pupate, the moth appearing August 6.
The caterpillar.— Leu gth, 1.25 inches [in shape tapering slightly from the middle
forward, but more rapidly from that point backward, the body deeper than broad.]
.General color bright green, head gray, first segment behind the head with two dark
purplish-black dorsal warts; from these a purplish-brown line extends backw'ard.
This purplish-brown color extends over the back part of the sixth segment, the whole
of the seventh, and most of the eighth. On the third segment begins a dorsal orange-
patch, which reaches back to the sixth segment, filling the space between the purple
lines. On the ninth segment is another orange-patch. The tenth segment has no
16U FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
purple and only a lit tit- orange below the stigmata. There is also a faint yellowish
donal line. The eleventh legmen! has purple-brown subdorsal lines with orange on
the back. These lines unite on the twelfth segment and form a broad dorsal line.
Peel and legs purple. (French.)
M<> ft. — Fore wings olive-ash, a distinct, dark (dive subdorsal spaee ; median space
paler, olivaceous ; transverse anterior line black, geminate, dentate; the space in-
cluded is stained in the middle with brown. A narrow, distinct, discal lunate streak,
preceded by b blackish zigzag median shade line most distinct in the costa. Be-
yond the discal streak the wing is clear and whitish, forming an oblique pyriform
space, limited out wardly by the subtenninal line and below by a dark shade below the
third median vein, somewhat as n: //. oliliqua. It is closely related to //. einerea Pack.
The following notes by Professor Riley throw more light ou the habits
of this insect :
Found July 9, 1884, at Hyattsville, M<1., quite a number of larvas of a Notodouta
feeding on oak, hickory, walnut, birch, aud Carpinns americana.
Larv;e entered the ground July 11) aud 20, and the moths issued from July 27 to
August 7. (Unpublished notes.)
218. The oak forked tail.
Seterocampa marthesia (Cram.) (Lochmceus tessella Pack.).
The caterpillar of this moth is one of the most iuterestiug among the
Notodontiaus since it connects Cerura with the other genera, by reason
of its two long caudal filaments, so much like those of Cerura. These
appendages are simply modified anal legs, and seem to be tactile aud
repellant organs. This caterpillar is also interesting from its power
when touched of forcing out a dense cloud of fiue spray from a gland
in the under side of the prothoracic segment, near the head. It is very
common ou the oak, both red and white, from Maine southward, in
August and through September, aud occurs as far south as Georgia.
The young before the last molt have much higher prothoracic dorsal
tubercles and much longer anal filaments than in the adult, and they
are tinged with reddish. The cocoon is of silk, not very thick, spun
between the leaves, and in confinement the moths issued iu November,
though ordinarily not due until June.
Professor Riley has observed it on the oak at St. Louis, Mo., June 22,
and iu July. He sends the following notes :
The larva, if disturbed, thrusts from the anal appendages a fiue red thread. The
moths issued March 11 and Id.
Many of the larva are iufected by parasites, among which were a Tachinid and a
Cryptus. (Unpublished notes.)
Larva. — It is a large-bodied, pale green caterpillar, thickest iu the middle, being
somewhat spindle-shaped. The head is moderately large, tiat in front, subcorneal,
with the vertex high aud conical, pale green, edged very irregularly with roseate on
the sides. A small double reddish tubercle on the top of the prothoracic segment,
from which a median white or yellow dorsal stripe, here and there marked with ro-
seate spots, runs to the supra-anal plate. The aual legs are represented by two
slender filaments held outstretched, which are nearly as long as the body is thick.
There are seven pairs of oblique lateral faint yellowish slender stripes, the last pair
extending to the sides of the anal filaments. All the legs are pale green and concol-
orons with the body. Length 40mm, including the filaments.
Moth. — This species is rather above the medium size, and may be known by being
nearer in form of antenna), body, and wings to Cerura than any other species of Loch-
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES
161
mceus or Heterocampa ; by the pale ashen bleached fore wings, the basal third of which
is very dark cinereous ; also by the linear obscure discal line, succeeded on the costa
by a white zigzag spot, and more especially by the square black spot near the in-
ternal angle, which is isolated from the submargino-apical dusky line, of which it
forms a part. Length of body, female, .90; expanse of wings, 2.15 inches.
219. The American silk-worm.
Telea polyphemus Hiibner.
Feeding on the leaves in August and September, a large, fat, pale-green worm, as
large as one's finger, with pearly red warts, with an oblique white line between the
two lowermost warts ; the head and feet brown, and a brown V-shaped line on the tail.
The American silk-worm, not uncommonly met with on the oak, may
be artificially reared in great abundance on the leaves of this tree, and
the silk, reeled from the cocoons, can make a durable and useful cloth.
The large, thick, oval cocoons are attached to the leaves and fall with
them to the ground in autumn. The eggs are laid in June, when the
moths may be seen flying at night. It is one of our largest moths, ex-
panding from five to six inches, and is dull ocberous-yellow, with a large
Fig. 53.— American silk worm, natural size. — From Packard, after Trouvelot.
transparent eye-like spot in the middle of each wing. It is not common
enough to be destructive.
Fig 54.— Cocoon.— After Trouvelot.
Fig. 55. -Pupa.— After Trouvelot.
According to Abbot and Smith, iu Georgia the caterpillar feeds on
the black-jack and other oaks. "It buried itself July 12, and the moth
appeared the 26th. Another went into the ground August 9, and
came out the 24th. It likewise comes forth early in the spring, for I
5 ent 11
16*2 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
have taken this species of moth on the LOth of May." It thus appears
to be double- brooded iu the Gulf States.
Larva.— Body very thick and fleshy, skin thin, segments short and convex, some-
what swollen and augulatrd. The head large, rounded, full above and retractile in
the prothoraeio segment, which is considerably wider than the head, but much nar-
rower than tin* one succeeding. The head is pale rust-ivd, and rather hairy in front.
The body is of a soft rich pea-green, much paler than the upper side of an oak leaf
and even than the under side. The front edge, of the prothoracic segment is straw-
yellow and on its anterior edge are four widely separated yellow warts, each bearing
a black hair. Two dorsal rows on second (meso) to tenth segment behind the head
of prominent spherical mammilla, bearing two to three pale yellowish hairs: those
on the first four segments rich yellow, those behind tinged with orange-red and glis-
tening with silver. Two lateral rows of similar tubercles in color and form, reddish
behind the fourth segment. The two rows are very wide apart, the lower row next
to bases of abdominal and thoracic feet. The spiracles are slightly nearer the lower
than npper lateral row of .mammilla. They are bright brick-red. A faint straight
oblique pale yellow baud connects the upper and lower tubercles on each segment,
there being six such bands.
Supra-anal plate forming almost an equilateral triangle, subacute, the edge thick-
ened and broadly marked with a bright varnish brown, forming a distinct brown V»
the hind edge of the broad anal legs also of the same hue of brown. Thoracic feet
rust-red. Abdominal feet concolorous with the body. Along the lateral ridge are
numerous short hairs. Length 65 mm ; thickness 13 mm.
2*20. The buck moth or maia moth.
Hemihuca maia (Drury).
This fine insect feeds on the oak, as Harris says, in company when
small, but dispersing when becoming larger; the caterpillar eats the
leaves of various kinds of oaks and stiugs very sharply when handled.
In the Xew England States the moth flies in July and early in August,
but is usually rarely seen so far to the northeast. In Illinois and Mis-
souri, according to Riley (fifth Missouri report), it is more abundant, and
in Illinois is called the buck moth or deer moth, because seen flying
late in autumn when the deer ruu. The species under its ordinary form
ranges from Maine to Georgia and westward to Kansas : it has also.been
rarely found west of the Rocky Mountains at Dayton, Xev., flying
about willows in August (var. nevadensis Stretch). I possess a male
from Colorado which has still wider white bands on both wings than
figured by Stretch. It also inhabits California [califomioa Stretch).
The Californian moth apparently agrees, as Riley states, with Dr. Lim-
ner's variety bred in Xew York ; the fore wings having no pale mark-
ings. It thus appears to range from
Maine to California : southward through-
out the Gulf State and to Nevada.
Riley states that the leaves of our dif-
Fio. 56. — II. mam. eggs natural size.—
After mil y. erent oaks afford the usual food, and that
"the black masses of the prickly larva1
are sometimes quite abundant on the young post, black, and red oaks
along the Iron Mountain region." He has also found them abundantly
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES.
163
on the scrub willow (Salix humilis) in northern Illinois, aud on a rose
bush, and states that they also occur on the common hazel, while Glover
records them as living on the wild black cherry.
Fig. 57. — H. maia; a, larva fully grown; b, pupa — natural size; c, abdominal, d, thoracic spine, of
newly-hatched larva: e, spine of larva after first molt; /, g, spine of larva after third and fourth
molts— enlarged.— After Riley.
In the Oeutral and Eastern States the moths begin to issue from the
ground late in September and early in October, " the males almost al-
ways appearing first " (Riley). Both Lintuer and Riley record cases
where the moths were retarded a whole year. " From a batch of larvae,
which had all entered the ground before July 1, 1871, one moth did not
issue till October 8, 1872." (Riley.)
Hemilevca maia. male buck moth. — After Rilev.
The eggs are deposited to the number of from one hundred to two
Jiundred in naked belts, the smallest number of eggs in a mass being
seventy. Riley thus describes the process of egg-laying:
Holdiug firmly by nil ber feet, the female stations herself upon a twig, with her
head usually toward its end. She then stretches her abdomen to its fullest extent
and fastens the first egg; another is theu attached by its side, and so on, the body
reaching round the twig without letting go the feet. In this manner, governed by
164 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
the thickness of the twig, an Irregular, somewhat spiral ring is formed and others
added, until toward the last the abdomen ii raised and the ovipositor brought up
between lbs Legs. The lower or first deposited ones incline so as to almost lie on their
(5tfa Ifo. Kt., p. i .
Mr, Joseph A. Stuart has communicated to me the following notes
on this moth observed by him at Dracat, Ifasfl :
September 85, 1876: Marked olnsterof eggs laid by wis around the stems of Spi-
rcta salicifolia in a cranberry swamp. May 25, 1-7? : Waded into my meadow to the
marked olnsterof eggs, and found the larv;e hatched and one-(juarter of au inch long,
feeding upon the plant on whieh the empty egg-shells still remained. Juue3: Plenty
of broods to be found in the meadow. June 10 : Those in the meadow began to scat-
ter: at this tune commencing to show the two rows of dull-yellow warts upon the
back, otherwise black in color with red head and legs. June 17: In the meadow
they were from three-quarters of an inch to one and one-quarter inches long, and the
branching spines showed plainly. Rarely more than one to be found on a plant. June
24 : Show the yellow dots between the warts and spines and the yellow u crescents "
above the prop-legs. They are getting more scarce. Have found two specimens on
the rough-leaved hardback, but not a single specimen on the dog rose, though in one
case found a dog rose growing intertwined with an infested hardback, neither have
I found them near a cranberry vine. In former years while picking cranberries from
September 15 to 25 have found freshly-emerged moths on a spear of grass and an
empty naked chrysalis in the peat moss three to four inches deep. Have never seen
them on upland in either State.
The spines are poisonous, as in most spinose silk-worms, especially
those on the back. Notwithstanding its armature, it is preyed upon by
two parasites Limneria fugitiva (Say) and a species of Microgaster.
Dr. J. A. Lintner states that the freshly-hatched caterpillars are at-
tacked by a bug, Anna modesta, which destroys whole broods at a
time. Dr. Lintner has given the most detailed account of the trans-
formations of this fine moth, but for convenience we copy the more con-
densed account of the larval changes as given by Riley :
Egg. — Length, .05 to .06 inch : obovate ; compressed on the sides and at the apex ;
reddish-brown above, below yellowish-white.
Larva before first molt. — Length, .15 inch. It is black and granulated above, red-
dish-brown and smooth below, with a row of spots along the middle joints. The
prolegs are brown ; head with a few scattering hairs: spines placed in the normal
position, namely. 6 (in longitudinal rows) on all joints except 11, where two dorsal
ones are replaced by a single medio-dorsal one. an additional snbveutral one each
side on joints 1. 2, 3, 4. 5. and 10, and an additional medio-dorsal one on joint 12.
They consist of a thickened, sub-cylindrical, polished black stem, nearly as long as
the diameter of the body, truncated at tip, which is coronated with three or four
short points, and emits a long black bristle, which, under high magnifying power
appears barbed. Ou the thoracic joints the stem of the six superior rows is forked
near its tip.
After first molt.— The body remains the same, but the spines, whieh are now longest
on thoracic joints, are more branched, with more hairs from the main stem, and the
bristles from blunt ends comparatively short.
After second molt.— The dorsal spines are still more branched, and often less trun-
cated, so that the bristle is less distinctly separated and forms more nearly part of
the tapering spine. The bristles also, especially on the lateral spines, are longer and
paler. During the latter part of this stage the characteristics of the mature larva
are indicated.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 165
After third molt. — The two dorsal rows of spines on joints 3 to 10, and the mesial one
on joint 11, are reduced to subcorneal tubercles or warts, fascicled with short, stout,
simple spines of a pale fulvous color, tipped with black ; those on joints 1 and 2 re-
main much as before, but there is generally a fascicle of similarly fulvous spines at
the base of the latter. The other spines are somewhat stouter, with the blunt tips
from which the bristles spring more or less white. Characters of mature larva more
patent.
After fourth molt. — The granulations assume the form of whitish transverse-oval
papillae, each emitting from the center a minute dark bristle. These papillae are
mostly confluent around the stigmata, and, together with some irregular, pale yel-
low markings, produce a broad and pale stigmatal stripe. They are most sparse
along the subdorsal region, just above stigmata, where, in consequence, the body
appears darkest.
Mature larva.— Average length, nearly 2 inches ; color, brown-black ; head, cervical
shield, anal plate, and legs polished chestnut-brown, the prolegs lighter, and inclin-
ing to Venetian-red, with hooks more dusky and the true legs darker, inclining to
black at tips. The dorsal fascicled spines, with the exception of a few short black
ones in the center of each bunch, are pale rust-yellow, translucent, the tips mucronate
and black ; the other compound spines are black, with the blunt ends more or less
distinctly white and translucent (but frequently crowned with minute black points,
as in the first stage), and the sharp-pointed spinules arising from them dusky. They
are generally enlarged and reddish at base, and an approach to the dorsal fascicles
is made in the increased number and yellow color of the basal branches, especially
in the subdorsal rows. Stigmata sunken, pale, elongate-oval; venter yellowish
along the middle, the legs connected with red, and a reddish spot on the legless joints.
Pupa.— The larva, to transform, almost always enters the ground, and there, in a
simple, ovoid cell, the prickly skin is shed, and the pupa state assumed. It is now
of a deep brown-black color, heavy and rounded anteriorly, minutely shagreened or
roughened, except at the sutures of legs and wing-sheaths, where it is smooth and
polished. The margins of the three abdominal sutures next the thorax, and of that
between the last two stigmata-bearing joints, are more or less crimped or plaited,
while the three which intervene, and which are the only ones movable, are deep and
transversely aciculate (as if scratched with the point of a needle) on the hind, and
longitudinally and minutely striated on the front side. The body ends in a trian-
gular, flattened, ventrally concave tubercle, tipped with a few curled, blunt, rufous
bristles.
Moth. — The wings are so lightly covered with scales that they are semi-transparent
and look like delicate black crape. The bands across them are cream-white, and
broadest on the hind wings. The female antennae below, the hair on the thighs, and
two small tufts behind the thorax, are brick-red, and the male differs from the female
in having broader, black antennae and a smaller abdomen, tipped with a large tuft
of brick-red hair. The color is cream- white, and the black hairs of the body more or
less sprinkled with hairs of the same pale color.
221. Tolype velleda (Stal).
The caterpillar of this remarkable moth was found by Abbot in
Georgia to feed on the willow oak (Quercus phellos) and the persimmon,
spinning its cocoon August 10, the moth appearing September 22.
In the northern States, where it has only been observed on the apple
and would be mistaken for a swelling of the bark, it spins its cocoon
also early in August, appearing as a moth forty days later.
Larva. — Body 2| inches long ; much like that of G. americana, the color, however,
pale sea-green, marked with ash, blended into white, and beneath of a brilliant
166 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
orange, spotted with vivid black. When in motion a rich, velvet-black stripe appears
two-thirds of an Inch from the head. (Harris.)
Cocoon. — Like soft, brown-gray paper in texture; one and one-half inches long
and half an inch wide; bordered on all sides by B loose web; oval : convex above and
perfectly flat and very thin beneath.
Moth. — A large stout-bodied moth, white with a large, high tuft of long, metallic,
brown scales along the thorax : wings short and broad, rounded at the apex with two
basal bands and a broad, slightly curved submarginal dusky band, interrupted by
the white veins; hind wings gray with a white border on which are two interrupted
gray lines. Males with broadly feathered antenna-, and expanding ty to If inches,
while the females are much larger, the wings expanding 2} to 2f inches.
The following species of Noctuidae are found on oaks of different
species:
222. Charadra deridens (Guen.).
This white hairy caterpillar occurred on the oak August 28. It was
first reared by Dr. Lintner (Coutr. iii, 157), in New York, and Septem-
ber 16 made a thin cocoon between the leaves.
The caterpillar also inhabits the elm and birch and spins a cocoon
late in August in a case between two leaves; the eggs were, as ob-
served by Mr. Thaxter, laid July 4, singly or in rows on the under
side of a leaf, the caterpillar hatching July 11, molting six times, the
last time August 6.
Egg. — Flattened, ribbed, whitish.
Larva. — When hatched, light green, on segm ents 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, respectively, a large,
roundish, red sub-dorsal spot. Head large, tinged with brown ; body tapering con-
siderably posteriorly, and sparingly clothed with long colorless hairs. Length 2. 5mm.
(Thaxter, Papilio iii, 11.)
Larva before last molt. — Head white, rounded, a broad jet-black transverse patch
on the front above the apex of the clypeus ; the latter edged with black, forming a
black triangle connecting below with a black stripe on each side of base of labrum;
the latter black-brown, body cylindrical, rather short and thick; sutures deep; head
uot so wide as the prothorax, the latter rather full and large, longer but not so wide
as the meso-segment, and with a yellowish-white tinge like the head. Rest of the
body white, with a very slight greenish tinge, with small tubercles concolorous with
the body, from which radiate fascicles of long white fine hairs of unequal length half
as long as the body. Length 21mm; thickness 5 to 6mm.
Full-fed larva. — After the last molt the head is jet black in front, except along
back of vertex, which is white, and sends a median line betweeu the two large black
patches. In front are three triangular whitish patches, one on the clypeus, and a
longer one on each side. In front black, face black, labrum white. Body dull white,
tinged with pale glaucous-green, with very long white hairs arising from small wThite
warts. Length 38mm.
Moth. — Fore wings broad, subtriangular, a little prolonged at the apex, of an ashy
white washed with yellow, with several waved blackish lines; those of the middle of
the wing more marked, one from the costa passing backward, forming a great JJ aud
containing in its middle a round dot pupilled with brown; the other contiguous and
opposed to that of the internal border, containing in the middle the base of the me-
dian shade, aud having the external side formed at the expense of the augulated
line. This last lunulated, followed by a similar line near the submarginal. At the
end of the discoidal cell is a blackish spot, and under the costa, before the upper [J
a mark of the same color. Hind wings rounded, white on the edges, with margiual
lunules; antennae short, well feathered. Palpi short, externally brown, with the
last joint white. Expanse of wings 40mm. (Gueue'e.)
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 167
223. Charadra propinqiiilinea Grote.
The larva is said by Mr. Thaxter to feed in Maine on the birch, wal-
nut, and maple, as well as the oak.
Larva. — Black, with a dorsal white baud, and a lateral white band edged below
with black beneath white. The loDg tufts in segment 2 were clear black instead of
red as normally. Specimens on walnut were mottled and black. (Thaxter.)
Moth. — Differs from C. deridens by the median lines being much nearer together and
not joined at the center of the wings. Orbicular spot round, distinct, whitish, with a
central dark dot. Reniform spot contiguous to the outer line; median line apparent
in front and behind the orbicular spot. Submarginal line distinct on the postal point
behind, scalloped. An interrupted marginal line. Hind wings smoky, dark along
the external margin. Head and thorax whitish. Tegulae with black marks. Ex-
panse of wings 40mm. (Grote.)
224. Psteudothyatira cymatophoroides (Guene'e).
Mr. R. Tliaxter has collected on the red oak the caterpillar, which
lives in cases between leaves, such as are made by Charadra. When
at rest the body is bent, the head approaching the posterior segments.
One spun a slight cocoon in moss September 20 to 25, the moth emerg-
ing on June 9 following.
Larva. — Rich yellow-brown, varying in shade, mottled by fine dark lines. A con-
trasting white spot just above the stigmata of segment 4, roundish and varying in
size, sometimes altogether wanting. A fine, continuous, black dorsal line. Head
protruded and darker brown than the body. Stigmata black-brown, slender. Length
42 mm (1.68 inches). (Thaxter.)
Moth. — Fore wings straight and at the internal angle with a tooth, the fringe of
which is reddish, and next to a large black spot. At the base of the wing is a gray-
ish-black spot, then succeeds a wavy band composed of two or three black lines, the
first of which is the extrabasilar, and which goes from the costa to the inner edge
of the wing. The other lines are indistinct ; the submarginal is very much toothed,
oblique, not bent. The whole wing is of a silky gray, tinted with rose, with the
median space dusted with black scales. Hind wings ashy with a small central line
and yellowish fringe; beneath clear yellow. On each side of the abdomen is a tuft
of dark-gray scales. The female differs much from the male in having no black spots
at the base of the fore wings nor at the internal angle, and the broad band of the
male is reduced to the extrabasilar alone, which is fine and edged with white. Ab-
domen not tufted on the sides. (Guen6e.)
225. The Western Dagger-Moth.
Apatela occidentalis Grote and Robinson.
The caterpillar of this moth has been reared from the oak in Massa-
chusetts by Mr. Roland Thaxter (Psyche ii, 35). The moth is of com-
mon occurrence from June to July in the New England and Middle
States. The caterpillar also feeds on the elm and apple and is seen in
September. It began to spin a cocoon September 23, the moth appear-
ing early in the following summer. It was identified for us by Mr.
Grote.
Larva. — Body cylindrical, hairy, with a black hump on the eighth segment, and a
broad black longitudinal band. The general color of the body is a livid leaden hue.
Pupa. — Of the usual shape ; tip of the abcloiueu obtuse, with eight long, even, stiff
168 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
chitiiimis Beta which are incurved at the end. The basal abdominal suture is well
marked, being very deep. Length 20""".
Moth.— This species is the American analogue of* tin} European A.psi. It constantly
differs from its ally by the paler color of the fore wings, which are more sparsely
covered with scales, and by their somewhat squarer shape. The reniform spot on
the disc shows a bright testaceous tinge, and the ordinary spots are less approximate
than in A. p*i. The secondaries are dark gray, nearly unicolorous, a little paler in
the male, and darker iti either sex than its Europcau analogue. Expanse of wings
1.40 inches. (G. and R.)
226. Apatela lobelia: (Gueuee.)
This caterpillar was found by Mr. Coquillett oil the burr oak in Illi-
nois, June C ; it spun a cocoon June 22, the moth appearing July 14.
Larva. — Body bluish-gray, the dorsal space tinged with yellow ; a dorsal and subdor-
sal pale yellowish line extending only to segment 11, which is humped, the top bluish,
and on it are four quite large piliferous spots; the top of segment 4 bluish, inter-
rupting the dorsal line; piliferous spots whitish, prominent, each bearing a black
hair; sides of the body quite thickly covered with whitish hairs; spiracles white,
encircled with black ; body beneath greenish white. Head gray, dotted with black,
and marked on the top with two blood-red spots. Length 1.50 inches. (Coquillett,
Papilio, i, 6.)
Moth. — Fore wings oblong, somewhat square, of a clear ash, finely speckled, with a
thick basal line, the transverse inferior line thick, and the superior one more feeble
and black, ordinary lines quite well marked. The spots not distinct, joined together
by a thick black spot; the orbicular spot relatively small. Fringe plainly spotted
with black. Hind wings dirty white, a little irised, with the veins and the edge
broadly washed with blackish ; beneath white, with a basal dash, a large triangular
spot, an interrupted transverse line and distinct terminal black dashes. Female with
the fore wings relatively rather large, the hind wings more obscure, with the line on
the under side more entire. Expanse of wings 55 mra (2.20 inches). (Guenee.)
227. Apatela affiicta Grote.
Several caterpillars were observed feeding on the red oak by Mr.
Thaxter. They spun stout, elongated cocoons September 17 to 25, and
the moths appeared in June and July of the following year.
Larva. — Light yellow-brown, tinged with green, darker above. A few lateral whit-
ish hairs. Stigmata white, ringed with black. A whitish stigmatal line; a distinct,
continuous black dorsal line. A subdorsal row of stiff club-shaped hairs, such as are
found in the larva of A. funeralis, but much smaller and not noticeable. These are
easily broken and in the specimens before me are present only on segments 4, 5, 6, and
11, though in more perfect specimens they may occur on all the segments. One
specimen found was rich yellow-green, and all vary considerably in shade. Head
stout, flattened behind, yellow-brown, lighter externally, sparsely clothed with whit-
ish hairs. It rests with the head touching the posterior segments, selecting a withered
or discolored leaf on which it is well coucealed. (R. Thaxter in Papilio, iii, 17.)
Moth. — Fore wings dark gray, shaded with black. The basal and transverse anterior
lines are black, geminate, uudulate. The mediau space dark gray, lighter on the
costa and along internal margin, and traversed by the median shade-line, which is
black, dentate, crosses the reniform spot, and is composed of three distinct black
bands, which are obscured in the center of the wing, and only apparent on the costa and
internal margin. Discal space occupied by a deep, blackish shade, showing a some-
what greenish reflection, and which occupies all the subterminal space. The ordinary
spots are of the normal shape ; the orbicular spot distinct, whitish with black center;
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 169
the reniform spot broad, but slightly excavated externally, obscured by the greenish
discal shade, ringed with black and with a central streak. Transverse posterior
line intensely black, geminate, minutely dentate. Subterminal and terminal lines
white, interrupted, dentate between the veins ; fringes whitish, broadly interrupted
with black at the extremities of the veins; costa with some whitish marks. Hind
wings gray ; darker along the veins. Disc of thorax whitish gray, with two central
blackish spots. Tegula) and collar blackish, the latter with a black line and grayish
above. Expanse of wings, 1.60 inches. (Grote.)
228. Jpatela brumosa (Guene'e).
According to Coquillett, the caterpillar of this moth feeds on the plum
and hazel ; it spins a thin tough cocoon. In Illinois two caterpillars
assumed the chrysalis state in September, the moths appearing in the
last week in April and first week in May of the following year.
Larva.— Body black, marked with a broad yellowish-brown stigmatal stripe; hairs
in spreading clusters from warts, those upon each end of the body being yellow, the
rest white ; sixteen legs ; head black ; length 38 mm.
Guene'e says it lives on the oak and is entirely clear yellow,- with a fine continuous
blackish dorsal line, and the head of a pale red. The piliferous points in a trapezoid,
somewhat warty, very small, pale red, and emitting but a single hair. The stigmata
is circled with blackish.
Moth. — A little larger than the European A. rumicis, which it somewhat resembles.
Wings of a little less fuliginous gray, with all the lines and the visible spots black ;
the orbicular spot quite large, clear, and marked with a central point ; the reniform
spot very large, and stained in the middle with black. A broad blackish shade, more
marked even than in A. rumicis, starts from the base of the wing and ends almost on
the terminal border, being interrupted behind the reniform spot. The fringe is dis-
tinctly checkered. The small white lunule which we see on the inner margin in
rumicis, does not here exist. Hind wings of a very clear yellowish-gray, somewhat
transparent, with the veins more distinct. A feeble cellular lunule, and the fringe
checkered, outer edge brownish, in the female. (Guene'e.)
229. Apatela ovata Grote.
This is a very common caterpillar, feeding on the red and white oak,
and ranges from Maine to Georgia. It is a peculiar caterpillar, eating
patches while clinging to the under side of the leaf. It varies much
in color, some being reddish orange, and pinkish in tint; others dirty
whitish yellow. In the pinkish specimens the dorsal line of dark dia-
mond-shaped spots is obsolete. One was yellowish with dorsal brown
spots; another caterpillar was brown, with ten pairs of bright straw-
yellow dorsal spots. This singular larva, which differs from most of its
congeners in being nearly naked, is probably protected from its ene-
mies, as it lies curled up on the leaf, by its resemblance to a withered
patch or blotch on an oak-leaf. Et pupated September 19 to 25, not
spinning a cocoon, and undoubtedly entering the ground.
We have also found it on Betula populifolia ; and two specimens oc-
curred on the chestnut ; one of a straw-yellow, the other of a reddish
tint. The moth was identified for us by Mr. John B. Smith.
The flattened body, very large head, the dorsal row of short diamond-
170 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
shaped spots on a straw yellow ground, and the reddish-orange mam-
milla} giving rise to pale hairs will distinguish this singular larva.
Larva. — Head very large, full, btlobed, the Lobe lull and rounded, much wider
than the body, pale, marbled with lilac. Five pairs of abdominal feet. Body short
and thick, somewhat flattened, tapering somewhat toward the tail; straw-yellowish,
with a row of dark broad, diamond shaped, brown spots along the hack, the spots
connected and centered with yellowish. Four setiferous dorsal reddish rounded warts
arranged in a trapezoid, with another wart on the side above each stigma. Body
beneath paler. Length, 'JO'"1".
Moth.— Of the general shape of A. hamamelis, but very different in color and with
distinct sagittate marks. Gray with a bright tinge, shaded with testaceous. A
blaok basal dash extends to the twice strongly angulated t. a. line, which is gemi-
nate, the inner more distinct line composed of raised scales. Above the basal dash
the humeral space is pale beyond the geminate basal half-line. Median space wide
superiorly, owing to the superior wide projection of the distinct and regularly den-
ticulated t. p. line Orbicular rather large, pale, and vagu e, with clouded center.
Costal black marks evident. Median shade apparent by raised darker scales. Reni-
form vague, bisaunulate, stained with deep testaceous. A very narrow black dis-
tinct dash at internal angle, broken at the pale continued s. t. line. A third black
dash, indicated within s. t. line, opposite the disk. Secondaries fuscous, with the
distinct black discal spot and dentate line of the paler under surface reflected. Ex-
panse of wings, 1.45 inch. (Grote.)
230. Scopelosoma morrisoni Grote.
Order Lepidoptera; family NocTUiDiE
The larvae of five species of this genus have, according to Mr. R.
Thaxter, the same form and habit ; are omnivorous, and live in a case
between two leaves, or within the folds of a single leaf; when young
making a silk-covered burrow between two ribs or eating out a cavity
in a bud somewhat after the manner of a Torticid. When fully matured
aud somewhat soiled, it is hardly possible to separate the species. 8,
morrisoni and walkeri are the most difficult to separate, but the more
even and richer color of the subdorsal and dorsal regions, together with
the obliteration of the dorsal and subdorsal lines, aud the clear white
lateral line, render the latter species sufficiently recognizable when
fresh. The lateral lines are substigmatal, the stigmata black, the body
sparsely covered with minute tubercles bearing short colorless hairs in
all the species. Form cylindrical, tapering very slightly, head moder-
ate. The eggs of the present species were laid ou oak twigs April 22. It
molts five times.
Egg. — Stone color changing to reddish ; flattened inferiorly, a central superior de-
pression from which radiate beaded ridges. Transverse diameter about 6ram.
First laival stage. — When just hatched, color livid yellowish green with blackish
superior and anterior blotches. Head large, jet black. Thoracic aud abdominal legs
black. A frontal semi-circular black plate ou segment 1. After feeding and when
nearly grown indications of a dorsal, subdorsal, aud lateral streak. Color light
green. Length 2 to \\nim.
Second stage. — A dorsal, two subdorsal, aud a substigmatal whitish line, the two
subdorsal ones less clearly marked, especially the inferior. Setiferous tubercles,
which bear short colorless minute hairs, blackish, indistinctly ringed.
INSECTS INJURING OAK- LEAVES. 171
In third stage. — Much as before, but tbe markings more distinct.
In fourth stage.— Color above and below on segments, one-third dull purple, tinged
with green dorsally. Below light greenish ; a patch of purplish in the substigmatal
region of each segment. Dorsal line with a bluish tinge. Head light brown. Length
16mm.
Fifth stage. —Marked as before but less distinctly. Colors duller and darker. Length
2^ mm
Sixth stage, mature larva. — Dull blackish with a slight bluish-green tinge and late-
ral dull purplish shades, obscurely mottled. Dorsal streak indistinct, bluish white,
somewhat irregular. Subdorsal lines broken, but tolerably distinct, the superior
edged with blackish. Lateral streak white with a bluish tinge. Stigmata black.
Setiferous tubercles minute, black, ringed with bluish white; those below the lateral
line more distinct. The superior subdorsal line cuts the frontal plate of segment 1
very clearly, and is there tinged with yellowish. Rather stout, slightly tapering.
Length 35mm. (Thaxter. )
Moth. — This species is of the color of S. walkeri, but differs at once by the even, pale
shaded distinct median lines on the fore wings, which latter are of a rusty olivaceous
ocherous. The reniform appears merely as a pale luniform mark, looking of a piece
with the t. p. line. This latter in S. tcalkeri is dark, single, narrow, irregular or
wavy, or a little interspaceally notched over the median nervules. Hind wings
blackish, with fringes like the fore wings and thorax in color. Beneath like the fore
wings above, irrorate with black scales, with distinct blackish discal spot and median
baud, the latter centrally more deeply indented than usual. Costal edge of primaries
straight. Expanse of wings, 3dmm. (Grote.)
231. Amphipyra pyramidoides Guen.
Professor Riley fouud, May 28, L873, the larva of this common moth
almost full-grown on the oak. It entered the ground June 5, and
issued as an imago June 25. He states that it feeds on oak, poplar,
grape, Cercis canadensis, persimmon, and hazel.
Saunders states that it also occurs on the thorn, and that when full-
grown the caterpillar descends to the ground, and, drawing together
some loose fallen leaves or other rubbish, spins a slight cocoon within
which it changes to a dark-brown chrysalis, from which the perfect
insect escapes in the latter part of July.
Larva. — Nearly an inch and a half long, the
body tapering towards the front, and thick-
ened behind. The head is rather small, of
a whitish-green color, with the mandibles
tipped with black; the body whitish-green, a
little darker on the sides, with a white stripe
down the back, a little broken between the
segments or rings, and widening behind.
There is a bright-yellow stripe on each side
close to the under surface, which is most dis- Fig. 59.— Imago of Amphipyra pyramidoi-
tinct on the hinder segments, aud a second des.— After Riley,
one of the same color, but fainter, half-way
between this and the dorsal line; this latter is more distinct on the posterior portion
of the body, and follows the peculiar prominence on the twelfth segment. The under
side of the body is pale green. (Saunders.)
Moth. — The fore wings are dark brown shaded with paler brown and with dots
and wavy lines of dull white; the hind wings are reddish with a coppery luster,
172 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
becoming brown on tin- outer angle of the frout edge of the wing and paler toward
the hinder and inner angle. The uuder surface of the wiugs is much paler than the
upper. The body is dark brown; its hinder portion banded with lines of a paler
hue. Expanse of wingH, 1J inches. (Saunders.)
'j:W. Tiriiiocampa incerta Hufn. (Orthosia itutaHUi Fitch)-
Professor Riley has found, feeding on the oak, small whitish larvae,
with a .yellow-brown head and a row of red spots on each side of the
body. One folded a leaf within which it spun a loose, white silken
web, open at both ends. It transformed within this, but deserted it
and entered the ground August 14. It also feeds on the hickory and
sassafras. (Unpublished notes.)
233. Jodia rufago Hiibu.
Professor Riley states that this is one of the early Noctuids, speci-
mens of which were collected on sugar at Washington April 15, 1884,
and commenced to deposit their eggs the following day. The eggs are
yellowish-white, globular, and finely ribbed. They hatch in about seven
days, and the young larvae commence to feed at once on the leaves of
cherry and oak. They are yellowish- white, with a pale yellow head and
black piliferous warts. They molt at intervals of three to four days,
the last stage lasting about ten days, when, by the end of May, all
enter the ground for transformation, apparently not appearing as moths
before the following spring. (Unpublished notes.)
234. Panopoda carneicesta Guen.
Larvae of this species were found August 25, 1884, in Virginia, feed-
ing on the oak, and a moth issued September 23. The same species
was also found at Atlanta, Ga.
Larva. — The full-grown larva is about 42mm in length, rather slender, of a dark
green color, with orange-yellow subdorsal line, and an oblique, fine, yellow line each
side of each segment. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Moth. — Wings rounded, entire ; of a violet-ash color, with the outer margin washed
with brown, and an indistinct submargiual series of white points, shaded with black-
ish or reddish. Fore wings with three distinct brown lines; the extrabasilar straight;
the extradiscal sinuous, curved, and the median diffuse line straight, passing beyond
the reuiform dot, which is black, very distinct, L-shaped, the lower branch of which
is prolonged to a point under the orbicular, which is reduced to a black dot. Hind
wings with a scarcely visible extradiscal line. Wings beneath gray, powdered with
reddish, not spotted or banded. Prothorax reddish brown. Expanse of wings 46mm.
(Guene"e.)
235. Panopoda rufimargo Hiibn.
This moth has been bred from the oak by Mr. R. Thaxter (Psyche ii, 35).
Moth. — Wings gray powdered with dark brown; the fore wings with two median
lines very rambling (ccartees), almost parallel, very wavy, but not toothed, fine and
continuous, rust-red, lined with a yellow thread. Thehind wings with a single sim-
ilar line, starting from the anal angle, but disappearing two-thirds across the wings.
Fore wings with the costa rust-red and the orbicular spot reduced to a dot, the ren-
iform being larger and tear-like. Expanse of wings 45mm.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 173
Var. roseicosta Gueu., with the wings of a clear yellow ocher, with the red lines
more widely edged with yellow. The reniform is divided into two dots, and the
orbicular is divided into two spots. Both pairs of wings bear a subterminal line of
yellow spots. The female differs in having the costa tinted with clear rose, and there
are no subterminal dots. (Guene'e.)
236. Cosmia orina Guen.
Order Lepidoptera j family Noctuid^e.
Mr. W. Saunders, of London, Canada, has bred this moth from the
oak. One specimen, which entered the chrysalis state on the 24th of
June, produced the imago on the 18th of July. (Saunders.)
Larva. — A smooth yellowish green larva nine tenths of an inch long, body cylin-
drical, above pale yellowish-green, with a dorsal line of yellow, less distinct on the
anterior segments, and covered with fine dots and short streaks of yellow, less nu-
merous on the second and terminal segments. Head rather smooth, flattened in front,
slightly bilobed, pale whitish-green.
Moth. — Fore wings somewhat oblong, and rather rectangular than triangular ; of a
fleshy gray mixed with blackish scales, and powdered on the veins with black scales ;
with two fine median white lines disposed in a trapezium more open at the base
than in trapezina ; median spots encircled with white ; the orbicular spot punctured
with blackish ; the reniform spot straight, constricted in the middle ; punctured with
black at each end. Hind wings whitish, grayish on their outer half, with a discal
dot, plainer beneath. Male abdomen very slender and ended by a very large tuft of
hairs. (Guene'e.)
237. Climbing cut-worms.
Agrotis saucia, etc.
Order Lepidoptera ; family Noctdidje.
Climbing cut-worms were a prominent feature of the entomological
developments of the spring of 1886. These attacked the oaks, elms, and
other shade trees, as well as apple, pear, and cherry trees aud a variety
of vines and shrubs. Among the species detected in their work of de-
struction were Agrotis saucia, A. scandens, A. alternata, and Homohadena
badistriga. The grass under shade and fruit trees would often in the
morning be thickly strewn with leaves and buds that had been severed
during the night. This was especially noticeable under the various
oaks and sweet cherries. On a large, isolated specimen of the latter,
up which a trumpet vine had climbed, I took early in May a great num-
ber of the larvse of Agrotis altemata. These mottled gray worms
were found during the day extended longitudinally on the trunk, closely
appressed to the stems of the trumpet vine, where, protected by their
imitative coloring, it would be impossible for an unpracticed eye to de-
tect them and where even birds failed to find them. When ready to
transform they descended to the earth and inclosed themselves in an
ample, tough, dingy-white cocoon, under any slight protection that
might be convenient. I also took this species from crevices of oak-
bark and occasionally found one feeding in a rose. (Miss Murtfeldt,
Bull. Div. Ent, xiii, p. 60.)
174 FIFTH REPORT OP THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
3, Catocala arnica (Hiibner).
Mr. Ooquillett found two caterpillars of this moth (C. androphila
Guen.j id Illinois on a burr oak tree June 5. They spun cocoons about
disclosing the moths July 24. Abbot also figured in manuscript the
July .'3, caterpillar, which he found on the oak.
Larva, — Body slender, doll greenish yellow, s light dorsal stripe, <>n each side of
which is a darker stripe, on which is a row of black piliferous spots; a stigmatal
row of black piliferous spots J on top <d' segment 8 is a slight prominence; underside
of body greenish white, with a row of black spots in the middle; one spot to each
segment; the two anterior pairs of abdominal legs smaller than the two posterior
pairs. Head gray, with two white spots on the upper part of the face. Length, 1£
inches. (Coqoillett).
Moth. — Pore wings pale gray, the lines fine, not very evident, the transverse ante-
rior hue the heavier marked. A distinct black median shade on costa above the
re ui form and continued beneath it, running upward to external margin below apex.
A brown shade fills the space left by the exserted portion of the transverse posterior
line beyond the reniform. This black median shade is marked on costa, but else sub-
obsolete in all the males I have before me, and the brown shading very faint. The
transverse posterior line minutely dentate without prominent teeth. Subreniform
small, pale, and both spots inconspicuous and often incompletely ringed. The ser-
rated subterminal white shade is tolerably distinct ; fringes dark. Hind wings bright
yellow; a broad thick terminal band is squarely discontinued and appears as a black
dot at anal angle. Friuges dark except at apex, where is a small yellow patch.
Beneath the marginal band is brokenly and narrowly continued to anal angle, and
the median band is indicated by tolerably large spots or fragmeuts. A specimen
from Texas differs by its dirty, ocherous gray primaries much shaded with deep
black, and may be a distinct species. Expanse 40 to 45mm. (Grote).
239. Catocala micronympha Guende ( C. fratercula G. & R.)
Order Lepidoptera; family Noctt:id.e.
The caterpillar lives on the live oak iu early spring in Florida, the
insect remaining in the pupa state two weeks (A. Koebele, Bull. Brook-
lyn Ent. Soc. i, p. 44. It also feeds on the burr oak in Illinois.
According to Coquillett it spun its cocoon June 1, disclosing the moth
Juue 28 (Papilio, i, 7).
Larva. — Body ashen gray, the dorsal space dark gray, and on its outer edge is a row
of black piliferous spots; on top of seguieut 8 is a conical dark-gray projection,
tipped with whitish; posterior part of segment 8 blackish; body beneath pale green-
ish white, with a row of black spots in the middle, one spot to each segment ; the two
anterior pain of abdominal legs are much smaller than the two posterior pairs; head
light gray, bordered on the top and sides with black. Length, If inches.
Moth. — Of moderate si/e. varying in the distinctness of the median black shade,
which ascends as usual to the external margin. The median space is sometimes
shaded with whitish before the reniform spot. There is no sinus to the trane
posterior Line. The shape of the median band varies in being more or less acutely
produced opposite the anal constriction of the hind border. The fore wings vary in
depth of color. Expanse of wings. A! to 46Bam. Rhode Island to West Virginia.
»te.)
This moth is very variable; var. atarah is slightly lighter than the type form : var.
faquenetta has olivaceous fore wings with indistinct lines, and a dark shading toward
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 175
the apex; var. timandra has sordid white fore wings, with distinct lines, hind wings
with the median band narrow ; var. hero has the fore wings with a large white spot
at base; and in var. gisela the fore wings are black to the transverse posterior line.
(Hulst.)
240. Catocala similis Edwards.
The transformations of this moth were first described by Abbot and
Smith, who named it G. amasia. Its food-plant is the oak.
Larva. — Probably nearly the same as in C. amasia, thus deceiving Abbot in the
identity of the two species. His figure makes it greenish gray, with protuberances
on each segment, and with dorsal, subdorsal, and stigmatal dark lines ; also an oblique
dark line on each segment. (Hulst.)
Moth. — Fore wings gray, clouded with brown and black ; lines distinct ; transverse
anterior line edged inwardly ; transverse posterior line edged outwardly with brown,
and angulated with an angle beyond the reniform spot in place of the M-shaped part
of the line, then nearly straight to the sinus, which is very small; reniform spot
pyriform, light; subreniform annulate ; triangular light patch at apex, along costa ;
hind wings bright yellow ; median band curved, nearly even, short, border broken.
Expands 45 to 55mm. From East and South.
Var. aholah has the fore wings clear silver gray, with a large black patch beyond
the reniform extending to the apex.
Var. Isabella has dirty white fore wings, lines distinct; transverse posterior line
edged with cinnamon brown. (Hulst.)
241. Catocala chelidonia Grote.
According to Mr. Doll the food-tree of this Arizona species is the
scrub oak.
Moth. — Fore wings even dark gray, somewhat hoary ; reniform spot shaded with
gray ; subreniform spot stained with brown ; lines indistinct, having the same course
as C. similis. Hind wings like those of C. similis, but with the median band gen-
erally narrower. Probably representing C. similis in Arizona. Expands 40 to 50mm.
242. Catocala amasia (Abbot and Smith).
The caterpillar is said by Hulst to be probably similar to that of C
similis aud to feed on the oak or pride of India.
Moth. — Fore wings sordid white ; basal half line very distinct ; transverse an-
terior and posterior lines nearly obsolete, the latter, when evident, scalloped, not
angulated ; median space sordid white ; reniform spot blackish ; transverse posterior
line edged outwardly with cinnamon brown ; subterminal line evenly dentate.
Hind wings yellow; median band often hooked; the border generally interrupted.
Expands 50 to 55mm. Eastern and Southeastern United States. (Hulst.)
243. Catocala deUlah Strecker.
According to Mr. Hulst, the caterpillar of this moth feeds upon the
oak, but no description of it has yet been published. The larva of var.
desdemona, which inhabits Arizona, was reared by Mr. Doll from the
scrub oak.
Moth. — Fore wings rich velvety yellow-brown; basal dash present ; transverse an-
terior line very heavy and dark ; transverse posterior line dark aud distinct; teeth
prominent and broad; subterminal space somewhat lighter; subterminal line fine,
176 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
strongly dentate. Hind wings bright yellow, median band rather narrow, gener-
ally rectangular at bend towards inner margin; marginal band broad, broken or
unbroken. Expands 70 to ><>""". Habitat, Nebraska to Illinois, and southward,
west to Arizona. Var. desdeiitoita lly. Edw. Wood brown with lighter shades; reni-
forui spot brown; subreniform lighter. Hind wings rich orange. Var. calphurnia
lly. Edw. Fore wings with a greenish tint, lines faint. Bind wings wholly black,
with the exception of a central cloud, a broad marginal band, and a central narrow
hand, which are orange. Unlet adds that the species is a very variable one, the
median hand showing a tendency common to all the Catocalro, as it narrows, to become
rectangular at the bend near the anal margin.
244. Caiocala verrUliana Grotc.
This species extends from California to Texas, its food-plant being
tbe scrub oak. (Hulst.)
Moth. — Fore wings gray, shaded with blackish; a diffuse black basal dash; trans-
verse anterior line densely shaded with black; reuiform dot small, yellowish, more
or less distinctly double-ringed; transverse posterior line much as in C. blandula.
Hind wings bright red, median black band narrow, quite even, not reaching the
aual margin; marginal baud narrow. Expands 50 to GO111111. C. ophelia Hy. Edw.
differs only in having somewhat heavier lines on the fore wings. C. verrUliana is
always described with bright red hind wings. C. violeata Hy. Edw. is somewhat
larger and has more black. Var. votria Hulst has clear yellow hind wings, and in-
habits Arizona.
245. Caiocala ultronia (Hiibuer).
The caterpillar, first described in Packard's "Guide to the study of
Insects" (p. 317, pi. 8, fig. 4), is said to feed on the wild cherry, plum,
dogwood, and live oak. Mr. Saunders has bred it in Canada from the
plum, finding it usually less than half grown in June. One caterpillar
pupated June 21; it remained in this state for twenty-four days, the
moth appearing July 15. The larva we reared in Maine pupated July
15 in an earthen cocoon, the moth appearing August 2. As Mr. Saun-
ders's description of the caterpillar is more detailed than ours, we quote
it below:
Larva. — Head medium sized, flattened in front, slightly bilobed, dull bluish gray,
with the front flattened portion margined with a purplish-black stripe. Under a
lens the surface appears thickly dotted with pale and dark-colored dots and streaks,
with a few short, pale, scattered hairs. Body above dark, dull, grayish brown, ap-
pearing under a magnifying power thickly studded with brownish dots on a paler
ground. Second segment a little paler than the others. A subdorsal row of dull
reddish tubercles, one on each segment from second to fourth inclusive, but behind
this there are two on each ring to the twelfth segment iuclusive, the anterior one
being the smallest, while the posterior and largest tubercle is more decidedly red, all
encircled with a slight riug of black at their base. On the ninth segment above
there is a prominent, nearly upright, stout, fleshy horn, about one-twelfth inch long,
pointed, and similar in color to the body, but with an irregular grayish patch at
each side. On the twelfth segment the two hinder tubercles are somewhat increased
in size and united by a low ridge, tinted behind with deep reddish brown; there is
also an oblique stripe of the same color extending forward from the base of the
tubercles to near the spiracle on this segment. The terminal segment is flattened
and has- a number of small, pale reddish and blackish tubercles scattered over its
surface. Iu front of each of the smaller subdorsal tubercles, from fifth to twelfth
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 177
segments inclusive, there is a dull white dot, and one also of a similar character in
front of each of the spiracles along the middle segments of the body ; from each of
the tubercles throughout there arises a single dark short hair. Spiracles large, oval,
dull grayish, faintly encircled with black. Along the sides of the body, close to the
under surface, is a thick friuge of short, fleshy-looking hairs, of a delicate pink
color. Under surface of a delicate pink, of a deeper shade along the middle, becom-
ing bluish towards the margins, with a central row of nearly round, velvety black
spots, which are largest from the seventh to eleventh segments inclusive. Anterior
segments greenish white, tinted with rosy pink along the middle, with a dull reddish
spot at the base and behind each pair of feet. .Thoracic feet pale greenish, spotted
outside and tipped with black ; abdominal legs dull grayish brown, margined with
black. Length 1.60 inches. (Saunders, Can. Ent., vi, 148.)
Moth. — Fore wings light-gra}r fawn, dark, almost black, along the inner margin ;
a basal dash and one at sinus present; a subapical dark shading; outer line fine,
strongly dentated to sinus. Hind wings bright red, median band broad, rather even,
reaching the anal margin. Expands 60 to 70mm. Habitat, east of the great plains
and Texas.
Var. celia Hy. Edw. median baud of hind wings linear. Florida.
Var. mopsa Hy. Edw. Fore wings nearly uniform brown.
Var. adriana Hy. Edw. Fore wings nearly uniform fawn drab.
Var. herodias Streck. Fore wings uniform dark smoky gray ; denticulations of
outer line very strong, and thus continued to inner margin. (Hulst.)
246. Catocala ilia (Cramer).
The caterpillar of this inoth has been reared by Messrs. Koebele,
Caulfleld, French, and by Thaxter, in Massachusetts, from various spe-
cies of oak. The moth is said by Grote to be an exceedingly common
aud very variable species. It is found from Canada, Maryland, and
Virginia southward to the West Indies. Mr. Caulfleld states that the
caterpillar was fully grown by June 15 at Montreal ; it spun up in a
leaf June 18 and the moth emerged the latter end of July. Prof. G.
H. French gives a detailed account of its early stages in the Canadian
Entomologist for January, 1884.
Larva. — Head heart-shaped, strongly bilobed, pale green, with white blotches,
twelve short, black hairs in front, and near the top of the head there are four small
tubercles of a white color, each of which is tipped with a black hair; head sur-
rounded with a broken border of dark streaks. Body with the upper surface greenish
gray, with an interrupted dorsal band of delicate blue-gray spots, the whole minutely
spotted with black. On the secoud segment are twelve small, white hairs, four on
fourth, fifth and sixth segments, six on the seventh, four on the eighth to twelfth,
six on the thirteenth. The sides delicate blue-gray, marbled with spots of green aud
black, with a broken lateral band of a green color; spiracles yellowish white, with
a black ring; behind each is a large wart, tipped with a black hair. A fringe of
short, white, fleshy filaments close to the under surface. Body beneath pink, with a
row of transverse black spots, larger and darker on the middle segments. Feet and
prolegs grayish white, spotted with green aud black. Length 2\ to 3|mm (Caulfleld
in part). Koebele states that there is a subdorsal line of slight protuberances, one
on each segment from the third segment back. There is also a dark lunule with the'
horns formed on the eleventh segment.
Moth.—- Fore wings dark cinereous, powdered with glaucous scales and shaded with
black. A basal ray. Trausverse anterior line geminate. Reniform spot whitish,
with a small, black internal ring. Subreniform pale, subquadrate. connected usually
5 ENT 12
178 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
with the transverse posterior line. Beyond the spots the median space is shaded
with black. Sometimes the whole wing is shaded with blackish to the trausveree
posterior line, leaving the reniform as a large white blotch without the anuulus.
Again, the wing wants the glaucous scales and the reniform is concolorous or merely
shows a few white scales. Hind wings orange-red, with an irregular black median
hand tapering to the margin. Basal hairs fuscous. Average expanse of wings 75mm.
Maryland and Virginia. (Grote.)
Mr. Hulst remarks that in var. uxor Guen£e the fore wings are brown-
gray, the reuifonu spot white; in the Californian var. zoe Behr, the
hind wings are lighter orange; in the YSiT.osculata Hulst, from Arizona,
the hind wings are clear yellow. C. ilia, he adds, is the most variable
of all our species. In some cases the fore wings are strongly mixed
with blue.
'247. Catocala epione (Drnry).
The caterpillar is said by Gueuee, on the authority of Abbot's manu-
script drawings, to feed on the oak.
Larva. — Body reddish gray, marbled with bluish gray ; a subdorsal black line
interrupted at the middle of each segment ; a paler lateral band ; no protuberances ;
head gray, with two red points.
Moth. — Fore wings very dark gray ; lines heavy ; transverse posterior line not
strougly augulated. and almost without a sinus; the reniform spot reddish; a red-
dish band beyond the transverse posterior line, then lighter, often almost white,
serrated outwardly. Hind wings black; fringes pure white.
248. Catocala vidua (Abbot and Smith).
According to Abbot this species feeds on the willow, locust, and
other species of oaks ; Mr. Angus has bred it from the hickory and Mr.
Koebele from the walnut.
Larva. — Greenish gray, with many black lines ; whiter laterally ; slight protuber-
ances on each segment ; head gray, edged behind with black.
Moth. — Fore wings with the color of C. retecta and markings of luctuosa. though
these are in the present species heavier and more decided; transverse anterior line
heavily geminate, connecting half way with the heavy black basal dash ; apical and
sinus shading heavy ; trausverse posterior line with |V| very much produced. Hind
wings black, sligbtly gray at base; deep white fringe; in some specimens there is
near the auterior margin a faint indication of a white median baud. Expand-
90mm. Middle, Western, and Southern States. (Hulst.)
249. Catocala lachrymosa Gnene*e.
Said by Mr. Hulst to probably teed ou the oak and walnut.
Moth. — Fore wiugs light cinereous, heavily and quite uniformly powdered with
black atoms; slight basal dash present: lines fairly strong, but often lost in the
black powdering; transverse anterior line often confused and broken: trat tt
anterior line with teeth medium : reniform spot brownish ; a brownish band beyond
the transverse posterior line. Hind wings black, fringe white, black at end of veins.
Expands ?;> to 85mm. Lower Middle and Western States aud southward. Var. Clulume
differs in being less strongly powdered with black, and in having [both J the lines more
distinct. Var. zelica French has a transverse anterior line inwardly and transverse
anterior line outwardly, baring a black baud across the wing. Var. paalina Hy.
Edw., fore wings black to the transverse posterior line.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 179
250. Catocala polygama Guene"e.
This species has been bred from the oak by Professor Kiley, and the
following description has been drawn from the blown specimen in his
collection. The caterpillar pupates in a loose cocoon among leaves.
" May 7, 1872. About full-grown ; found under shelter at foot of
blackjack oak. Color preserves well. Some paler than others. They
lie very flat on the twigs.
" It prepared for pupation May 10, and changed to pupa May 16,
the moth issuing June 6.'' (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Body of the usual shape, with no spines or large tubercles. Head as
usual, black on the sides of the front and vertex. Body ash brown, lineated, with
two broad dark dorsal stripes, succeeded below by a narrower but similar stripe.
Sides of the body above the base of the legs dark ash. On each abdominal segment
are four light, distinct, small tubercles, and four on each side arranged in a rhom-
boid. A row of large black ventral patches edged with orange on each segment,
becoming largest between the first and second pair of abdominal legs. Length 65min.
Pupa. — Of the usual form, the body frosted over with a whitish powder. Length
25mm.
Moth.— The four wings slightly greenish gray, powdered with dark ferruginous
scales, especially beyond the outer line, where this shade forms a dentate submar-
ginal line. The outer or extradiscal line is more finely waved, and above the sub-
median vein it passes into a black spot bordered with rust-red. The edge of the
hind wings are indented with yellow at the outer angle.
251. Catocala coccinata Grote.
The caterpillar of this moth has been bred from the oak by Mr. D.
W. Coquillett, of Illinois. His specimen spun its cocoon June 6, pro-
ducing the imago the 30th of the same month.
Larva. — Body dark gray, a curved fleshy proiection on top of segment 8 ; segment
11 slightly raised, with two tubercles on the top ; a row of small prickles on the
dorsal space, sixteen legs, a black spot beneath each of the segments which bear the
four pairs of abdominal legs ; head gray, bordered with black. Length 62mm.
(Coquillett.)
Moth. — A little smaller than C.parta ; clear cinereous ; before the reniform, which
is smaller and paler than in C. parta, the wing is whitish and occasionally allows
the crimson underface to be reflected. Subreniform spot whitish and large. Hind
wings bright crimsou. (Grote.)
The following species are geometrids, or species of the lepidopterous
family Phalcenidce :
252. Eutrapala clemataria Hiibner.
The caterpillar of this moth occurred on the live oak at Crescent
City, Fla., in April. My specimens were left to be bred in the office of
the IT. S. Entomologist, at Washington, but died. The following notes
were copied for me by Mr. Pergande.
1 The larva had not eaten anything for some days when received, and drank'
greedily some water when placed near some drops, and soon after commenced feed-
ing on leaves of white and other oaks. It cast a skin two or three days after and
became quite dark brownish. It died April 27 of diarrhea.
180 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
June '27 one larva of the same species was found on oak Dear the fair ground, Dis-
trict of Colombia. It measures 2\ inchee in Length and is of a dark grayish-brown
color, the dorsum being more brown whilst its sides and renter are dark gray.
Wartfl and stigmata are of the sain.- color as in the Smaller larva from Florida. The
minute oval spots are replaced by a rather indistinct marmoration. which on the
dorsum is somewhat orange and on the sides and venter more olive. The moth
issued .Inly •::', l--i'..
One larva of the same species was found by Koebele in Virginia,
June 12, 1882, feeding on hickory.
The larva is long and slender, of nearly even width throughout; the
head flattened in front; mesothoracic segments with lateral and dorsal
tubercles which are very rough; on the fourth abdominal segment are
two conical dark dorsal tubercles; there are two minute dark tubercles
on the fifth, and two slightly larger ones nearer together on the eighth.
Abbot states that it feeds on Clematis rosea, and in his manuscript
drawings that it feeds on Pyrrhopappus carolinianus.
Larva.— Its length is If inches. Color gray with a slight yellowish tinge, and the
-whole surface closely marked with minute, transversely oval, blackish or pale
dusky spots. Head small, quite flat, and closely spotted with darker gray. Protho-
rax small, scarcely broader than the head, with a broad, somewhat paler median and
narrow subdorsal line. Its posterior margin is provided with a transverse row of
four small black tubercles. The mesothorax is much larger aud very abrupt in
frout; the small anterior wrinkles are somewhat yellowish, whilst the large poste-
rior swelling is of the color of the body, being ornamented anteriorly by four trans-
versely oval, conspicuous black spots, aunulated with a brownish-yellow ring. The
four black warts on the metathorax are only externally bordered with brownish
yellow. The two dorsal rows of warts on abdominal segments 1 to 7, are arranged
as usual, are small, black, and also with brownish-yellow border externally. The
posterior pair of dorsal spots on the fourth abdominal segmeut is replaced by two
prominent, somewhat transversely oval, black tubercles with rouuded tip, and
orauge-yellow external margin at base. The eighth segment is also somewhat
swolleu above, is marked with two large black median spots, au orange annular with
black center each side, and a transverse orange spot with black center behind the
swelling. Stigmata orange with black anuulus. The three warts which surround the
first abdomiual stigma differ somewhat from those of the other segments. The lower
anterior wart is placed farther in front of the stigma than that of the other segments,
whilst the upper wart is placed just above the stigma and largest. The two ante-
rior warts of the other stigmata, however, are both placed in front, the upper one
farthest apart. The anterior wart of the first stigma is black, with orange tips, and
all other warts orange with black tip. There is a somewhat lunate, deep black
superior margin at base of the wart above the first stigma and a short blackish dash
above all other warts. The veuter is of a paler gray with three large blackish spots
on the fourth aud fifth segments. (Riley.)
Pupa. — Body unusually thick, rather short; surface rough aud corrugated, spotted
with black; spiracles large and black. Pale dull reddish ash, dark towards and at
the tip of the abdomen; legs somewhat streaked with black. The tip very peculiar,
being short and blunt; the last segment corrugated wirh longitudinal ridges which
are swollen at the anterior edge at the suture. Cremaster broad and couical, some-
what flattened, the surface rough, coarsely pitted; a large smooth terminal curved
spine, with three pairs of lateral rather large setse, all arising near together at the
base of the single terminal one. Length, *20,nm.
Moth.— Wings very falcate, especially in the female, where they are produced into
a long point. Body and wings fawn color, with scattered black dots; front of head
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 181
reddish brown ; vertex white. Fore wings, with two inner reddish-brown diffuse
lines, the inner situated half-way between the base of the wing and discal dot,
curved and more or less scalloped, the outer curved, situated just be\ond the discal
dot, and joining the third outer line on the second median venule ; it is broader and
still more diffuse than the basal line. Outer line straight, bent back at a very acute
angle on to the costa, the line above the bend being more or less angularly curved
and dilated on the costa ; an oblique white line extends from the bend to the costa
just below the apex, which is white above and blackish below, with a large reddish-
brown patch extending irorn below the apex to the second median venule. Discal
dots in both wings black ; scales flattened as usual. Hind wings with a single slightly
curved line just beyond the middle of the wing. Expanse of wings, 2. 2D inches.
253. Eutrapela transversata (Drury).
This rather common caterpillar was first found by Abbot feeding on
Clethra alnifolia. In the Northern States it feeds on the maple (Good
ell) and currant (Emerton), and we have found the moth just emerged
•resting on the leaves of the red maple. In Florida, however, we have
found it at Crescent City in April feeding on the live oak. It was
reared by the U. S. Entomologist at Washington, where on May 6 it
spun a rather dense cocoon between the leaves, the moth emerging
May 31. The larva occurred in Virginia June 26, where it feeds on the
oak (Koebele) ; in Massachusetts the caterpillar occurs in June; thus
it is apparently double-brooded in Florida and the cotton States, but
single-brooded in the Northern States.
Larva. — It is about 1 inch in length and quite uniformly dark gray, with a paler
gray, elongated spot each side of the first abdominal segment. The lateral margin
forms a flattened carina, on which the stigmata are situated. Both edges of this
carina are purplish, and the small stigmata white with black annulus. Piliferous
warts small and black. There is a large, prominent, transverse, bilobed projection
of a blackisb color on the fourth abdominal segment, which is bordered in front by a
whitish triangle. Behind thiu projection, and parallel with its lateral angles, run
two whitish dorsal lines to the anal plate. There are also two small black conical
tubercles on the last segment. Head concolorous with the body, the face marked
with a dull black semicircular spot, the angles of which end near the base of the
mandibles.
The smaller larva, which measured about three-fourths of an inch in length, is
dark purple, with the head entirely dull black. The projection on the fourth abdom-
inal segment is in this specimen still divided into two oval and rather prominent
tubercles which are orange externally. (Eiley.)
Pvia.— Large and long, not very stout and short compared with that of E. clem-
ataria; acutely pointed at the end of the abdomen. In color slightly pale ash-mahog-
any. The last segment much corrugated longitudinally at the base of the cremaster,
but the ridges are not swollen anteriorly as in E. clemataria. Cremaster flattened,
conical, not discolored with black, with two terminal excurved thick setae, and only
one pair of minute subdorsal-lateral setae. Length, 21mm.
The moth. — It may be recognized by its large size, the very falcate wings, the
obtusely bent outer line on the fore wings, and by the submarginal shade or row of
• spots on both wings; the hind wings extend farther than usual behind the tip of
the abdomen. Fawn color, varying to ocherous ; head chocolate brown in front, the
vertex white. Fore wings with the inner line usually present, curved, consisting of
two large scallops meeting on the median vein and pointing inward. Outer line
straight, more or less distinctly bent near the apex, turning at right angles into the
182 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
ooetft. From tin- angle extends a more or less distinct slightly curved series of irreg-
ular diffuse dark spots to the inoei angle ; this is usually represented by a faint shade.
l>i-Mal dots alike in each wing, being small and blaek. Hind wings with the single
Line in the middle of the wing straight, with the outer series of diffuse spots as on the
fore wings. Expanse of wings, 2 to 2.10 inches.
'254. MetanewM quercivoraria Gueu6e.
(Larva, PI. Ill, fig. 8.)
Feeding on the oak, a pale green span worm, marked with red, changing to a
brownish-gray chrysalis, from which a beautiful sickle-winged moth comes.
In Georgia it was observed by Abbot on the oak and poplar in April ;
it pupates at the beginning of May, and the moth appears at the end
of the same month. We have raised this from the oak, the moth issuing
on May 3.
i
Larva. — Pale green, with the sutures and sides reddish, a double angle bordered
with reddish on the second segment behind the head ; another more salient on the
sixth, and finally another on the tenth ; the fifth segment has on each side a small
pointed tubercle. Head and feet concolorous.
Pupa. — Reddish horn-brown, with the abdominal sutures reddish; caudal spine
acute, large and flat. Length 13mm.
Moth. —Body and wings pale whitish ash. Wings thickly covered with fine speckles.
Fore wings with three lines, the usual inner and outer lines, and a third wavy sub-
marginal hair-line. The two inner lines distinct, of even width, a little oblique, not
waved ; the innermost line situated exactly on the inner third, the outer line on the
outer third of the wing. Costal edge stained with reddish on the end of the outer
line. Submarginal hair-line wavy, sinuate, reddish, situated half-way between the
outer line and the edge of the wing, and disappearing below the second median
venule, scalloped between each venule, much more distinct below than above. On the
hind wings a single brown line, and traces of a submarginal wavy line. Beneath paler
than above, with the lines reproduced beneath and dull colored; the third submar-
ginal line on both wings partially obsolete, but clearer than above ; fringe reddish.
Expanse of wings 1.50 inches. It ranges from Maine southward.
255. Nematocampa filamentaria (Guene"e).
The singular caterpillar of this species is found on the oak, maple,
as well as the currant and strawberry, in June, becoming a chrysalis
in New England by the 20th of the month, the moth appearing early
in July and flying about through the summer. Its habits in Missouri
have been thus described by Professor Riley :
June 1, 1870. — Larvae were found at St. Louis, Mo., on thorn and laurel oak. One
changed to pupa June 4, hauging between a few threads on a twig. The moth issued
June 12. One larva was also received June 26, 1883, from J. H. Clark, of New York,
which he found feeding on a rose-bush. It changed to pupa in a slight web of
thread June 27, and the moth issued July 5, 1883.
Some larvae of this insect are infested by Tachinids, the eggs of which were de-
posited at the side between the fourth and fifth segments. (Unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Body cylindrical; head large, with two unequal pairs of long, slender,
fleshy filaments situated on the third and fifth abdominal segments, the posterior
pair shorter than the others, curled at the end and finely tuberculated. Head pale
rust-red, full, slightly bilobed, flattened in front ; marbled with a still paler hue.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 183
Half-way between the metathoracic legs and the first pair of filaments are two sub-
acute tubercles, which are rust-red; when the four filaments are uncurled they are
as long as from the head to the tubercles. The anterior pair of filaments are pale
rust- red beneath at base, brown above, but tipped with white. A distinct dorsal
line from the prothorax to the second pair of filaments ; a pair of small tubercles
next to the last segment, tipped with pale rust-red. Body wood-colored above and
beneath ; thoracic segments greenish above, succeeded by pale rust-red between the
Fig. 60. — Nematocampa filamentaria ; a larva, b pupa. Nat. size. —
Emerton, del.
tubercles and first pair of filaments ; behind these variously marked with light and
dark brown. An oval dark spot behind the last pair of tubercles and extending into
the anal plate. Anal legs rusty, lined above with a whitish line. Length 18mm.
Pupa. — Body rather thick, conical, pale horn-brown, slashed and speckled with
dark -brown.
Moth.— Fore wings unusually short and broad; apex rectangular, outer edge bent
in the middle, deeply excavated in the female on each side of the angles ; hind wings
rounded at the apex, with a distinct angle in the middle, reaching as far as the end
of the "abdomen. Pale ocherous, with brown veins and transverse dots ; a brown
inner line, much curved. An outer sinuate line, with a supplementary line just
inside, touching the outer line on the submedian vein and in the extradiscal space,
and forming a large circle, one side of which touches the outer line. Beyond the
line the border of the wing is dull brown, with the apical region clear. Hind wings
streaked transversely, as on the fore wing, with the outer third brown, the apex
included. Expanse of wings 25mm (1 inch).
'256. Endropia bilinearia Packard.
The geometric caterpillar of this species was found by Mr. W. Saun-
ders, of London, Canada, feeding on the oak; unfortunately it was
not described ; it became a chrysalis early in July, emerging as a moth
two weeks later.
The moth. — Clear fawn-brown; wings much darker and less spotted than in the
other species of Endropia. Body and wings concolorous; front edge of the fore
wings paler than the rest of the wing and spotted finely, especially on the edge, with
brown specks. Two brown hair-lines, the inner situated on the basal, and the outer
on the outer third of the wing ; the inner line bent on the front edge of the wing.
Outer line a little curved outward in the middle of the wing. Half-way between
this line and the outer edge of the wing is a diffuse, interrupted, faint grayish band
with a few dark scales, often wanting, and connecting with an oblique apical patch,
also concolorous with the front edge of the wing. Outer edge of the wing deeply
notched, the eight acute points (including the apex, which is very acute) tipped with
a few black scales, the fringe being whitish between. Beneath, body and wings
ocher-yellow, especially in the middle of the wings. Both wings-marked alike with
184 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
a basal, diffuse, l>r<Ki<l brown Line, :in<l an outer much eurved brown bair-liue. Ad
outer row of dark patches forming a taint broken line. An apical, oblique, whitish
patch. Bind edge of fore wings with darker spots and patches than elsewhere. Ex-
panse of wings, 1.30 t«> 1.65 inches. This fine moth occurs all over the Uuited States
and on the Pacific coast from California to Oregon.
•J.")7. Bndropia peetinaria Guene'e.
Living on the oak and other trees, a large gray measuring worm, transforming to a
lar^e Emlrojt'ui, with three sharp teeth in the hind wiugs.
The transformations of this moth have been observed by Abbot in
Georgia, who found it living on the oak and poplar in April. It changes
to a chrysalis at the beginning of May, and the moth appears at the
end o^ the same month.
Larva. — Pale green, with the sutures and sides reddish, a double angle bordered
with reddish on the second segment, another more salient on the sixth, and finally
another on the tenth ; the fifth has on each side a small pointed tubercle. Head and
feet concolorous.
Moth. — The hind wings with a large tail and toothed; the fore wings angular,
sickle-shaped. Body and wings pale whitish-ash. Wings thickly covered with line
speckles. Fore wings with three lines, the usual inner and outer line, and a third
wavy submarginal hair-line. The two inner lines distinct, of even width, a little
oblique, not waved; the innermost line situated exactly on the inner third, the outer
line on the outer third of the wing. Front edge of the fore wings stained with red-
dish on the end of the outer line. Submarginal hair-line wavy, sinuate, reddish,
situated half-way between the outer line and the edge of the wing and disappearing
below the second median venule, scalloped between each venule, much more distinct
below than above. On the hind wings a single brown line, and traces of a submar-
ginal wavy line. Beneath, paler than above, with the lines reproduced beneath, and
dull colored; the third submarginal Hue on both wings partly obsolete, but clearer
than above; friuge reddish. Expanse of wings, 1.50 inches. Ranges from Maiue to
Missouri and Kansas.
The parent of this caterpillar, which is found in the United States,
north and south, and west as far as Kausas, may be known by the
three well-marked teeth on the apical half of the hind wings, by the
clear border of the wings, and by the dark clear lines ou the under side.
The caterpillar lives in Georgia on the oak and other trees, according
to notes left after his death by Abbot, and is of a pale yellowish gray,
with a dorsal lozenge like mark. The fourth segmeut is darker, and on
the back of the eighth, ninth, and tenth are also two obscure marks
bifid anteriorly on the first, and carrying a blackish angle on each ex-
tremity of the second. The head and feet are concolorous. It is found
in Georgia in May and June, and the moth is disclosed towards the end
of this last month. A second generation enters the chrysalis state
towards the middle of July to appear as moths in the beginning of
August. In the Northern States the species is undoubtedly only
single- brooded.
Besides these geometric caterpillars, that of Metrocampa perlaria
Guenee should be looked for on the oak, as its closely allied Europeau
cougener (.1/. margaritata) feeds on the elm, hornbeam, birch, aud oak.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 185
258. Endropia textrinaria Grote aud Rob.
The caterpillar was found on the white oak at Providence, October 7.
October 10 it began to spin a thin slight web at the bottom of the breed-
ing box, and the pupa appeared October 12. The moth appeared in
the breeding box in May. I have captured the moths in the Adiron-
dacks at the end of June, where no oak trees were perceived.
Larva. — The body is rather slender, the head wider than the segment behind,
rounded, rather deeply bilobed, swollen on each side of the apex of the clypeus; the
latter edged with dark brown, forming a V"snaPefl line on the front of the head.
The prothoracic segment is normal, while the mesothoracic segmebt is much swollen
on each side, the rounded swellings connected by a dorsal curved ridge. On the
metathoracic segment is a small transverse ridge, next to that on the meso-segment.
On the hinder part of the third abdominal segment is a large double dors-al dark knob-
like hump. On the sixth is a conspicuous dark transverse rounded ridge, enlarged
and higher at each end. The eighth segment has large warts, and there are also large
warts on the sides of segments 7 to 10. The supra-anal plate is triangular but short,
with four hair-bearing warts above and four at the end. Anal legs large and broad.
The short penultimate segment has a transverse row of eight large warts; these
warts are obsolete on the front half of the body.
The body is of exactly the color of an oak twig, being dark gray shaded with
light, and of the same color beneath as above ; while the knotted appearance of the
segments behind the head and in the middle of the body assist in the deception, the
caterpillar being remarkably like a bit of oak twig. The anal conical dorsal tuber-
cles are large and distinct.
Moth. — In this species the hind wings are distinctly "tailed," not merely sinuated,
as in E. madusaria, while the fore wings are distinctly excavated, but not dentate
below the apex, and they are shorter and broader than usual. Fore wings densely
mottled and strigated with ocherous- brown ; an inner, curved, pale-brown line, bent
outward on the submedian vein, and meeting the outer line, which either runs very
near, or if remote, throws out a connecting streak, in the former case forming an oval,
with the end resting on the inner margin of the wing. Outer line dusky fawn-brown,
oblique, curved outward above and below inward to meet the inner. Beyond, the
wing is shaded with ocherous-brown ; this shade sometimes extends to the border of
the wing, interrupted by a submarginal row of irregular pale patches proceeding from
the broad, apical, diffuse, pale patch. Discal dots black, distinct in both wings.
Hind wings like the front pair, the outer line situated in the middle of the wing and
nearer the discal dot than usual. Expanse of wings, 1.50 inches.
259. Paraphia unipunctaria (Haworth).
Order Lepidoptera ; family Phaljenid2E.
Eating the leaves early in June, a gray span worm 1.40 inch long, sprinkled with
blackish dots and short lines, its head and neck a little thicker than the body, each
ring with a small squarish white spot above on its hind edge and with two blackish
parallel lines on each side of this spot.
This moth ranges from New England to Texas ; it is said by Fitch to
feed on the oak, and by Abbot (in Guenee) to live on the uelm, oak,
cournouiller," etc. The Amilapis triplipunctata of Fitch is undoubtedly
synonymous with Haworth's species, originally described as an English
species.
186 FIFTH REPORT OP THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The moth. — Of a uniform oloai fawn-color, without the usual spots aud speckles
t in other tpeoiet of the gonna; ■ banal, brown hair-Una beut outward acutely
on the modi an vein ; a broad, diffnaa, dark median band oommon to both wings. The
extradiaoaJ line is dark, finely scalloped, curved outward below tin- co-,ta,and sweep-
ing inward below the tirxt median venule: beyond this line both wings are deeper
lawn-color. At a little distanee below the costa, and nearer the extradiseal line than
the outer edge of the wing, is a conspicuous angular, clear, white spot. Fringe dark,
the scallops tilled with whitish scales. Hind wings like the anterior pair, though the
extradiacal line is not sinuous, but curved regularly outward. Beneath, paler than
above; the median band is distinct, and the extradiseal line more or less so ; the tints
are much u above. The wings expand 1.40 inches.
360. Thtrina fervidaria Hiibner.
This moth was bred by Abbot in Georgia from the silver bell tree
{Halesia diptera), but Dr. Riley has reared it from the live oak in
Florida. This is our most common species of the genus in the Eastern
United States. It is at once known by the much-speckled wings and
the ocherous-bordered, blackish liues. It varies greatly in the distance
apart of the two liues, which in the fore wing are in some twice as wide
apart as in others. The species is exceedingly variable.
At Esquimau, Vaucouver Is., "all the oaks were stripped by the
larvre of Therina fervidaria, and their trunks and branches were
paved with the handsome Geometrid moths in September." (James
J. Walker, Ent. Month. Mag., Aug., 1888, p. 65.)
Larva. — Head scarcely as wide as the prothoracic segment, the latter not so wide
as the body behind. Body of uu'fortn thickness, with no tubercles. Head smooth,
slightly divided above, rounded and smooth : pale, with seven black dots on each
side. Body aud head pale yellowish ash ; with two dorso lateral blackish longitudi-
nal stripes, and another stripe below on each side : the body elsewhere with fine, more
or less interrupted, black lines, and some deep ocherous ones. Between the two
dorso-lareral lines are four more or less interrupted fiue lines. Length 38 to 40mm.
Pupa. — Rather slender, whitish, slashed and spotted with brown. (Described
from Abbot's manuscript drawing.)
Moth. — Pale ocherous : head and front of the thorax with the antenna? deep ocher-
ous. Wings densely speckled with smoky spots ; well angulated, the angle on the
tore wings often acute, on the hind wings forming a slight tail. Outer line dark
brown, bordered externally with ocherous. Inner line a little curved, and situated
either on or a little withiu the inner third of the wing. Discal dot dark, distiuct,
sometimes wanting on the hind wings. Outer line sinuate or zigzag, varying greatly,
the angle on the first median venule being slight or very marked on both wings.
Od the hind wings a single line only. Beneath, much paler ; the lines re-appear, but
are diffuse and smoky. Expause of wings 1.50 inches.
261. Therina endropiaria (Grote and Rob.).
This moth has been raised from caterpillars found feeding on the oak
at Amherst, Mass., by Mr. L. W. Goodell. It pupated September 4,
just beneath the surface, and the moth emerged May 19 following
(Can. Ent., xi, 194). It has also been bred by the U. S. Entomologist
from specimens which I collected in April at Crescent City. Fla., from
the live oak. The larva spun a slight cocoon between leaves at Wash-
ington April 27, and the moth emerged May 19.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 187
Larva. — Its length is If inches. Ground color whitish. Head white, marked with
large, round spots, similar to those of Aletia, and numerous minute spots and faintly
brown mottlings. Cervical plate white with four small black spots along the anterior
margin and two behind them. Median line slightly reddish, bordered by a fine
black zigzag line. Abdomen with three pale brown, somewhat interrupted, rather
broad dorsal stripes, each of which is also bordered with a very fine black zigzag
line. There is also a subdorsal row of narrow, elongated, orange spots, one to each
segment. Suprastigmatal band broad and purplish, divided along its whole length
by an interrupted white line. Substigmatal baud orange, bordered below by a
broader, pale purplish stripe. Venter whitish or yellowish, divided longitudinally
by four very narrow black lines. Stigmata black. Thoracic legs white, their claws
blackish. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Papa. — Body moderately stout, whitish, very pale, spotted distinctly with black;
■about sixteen black dots on the prothoracic segment. A curved black line on each
side of the head. Cremaster flattened, conical, ending in two long, twin, decurved
bristles, the outer bristles either minute or wanting. Length 15mm.
Moth. — Male and female. Head and thorax, including the antennae and legs, pale
ocherous, extending to the costae of the fore wings, especially the under side. Wings
pale whitish, with a slight ocherous tint, with indistinct cinereous speckles, espe-
cially marked toward the outer edge ; two parallel lines, the inner a perfectly straight,
pale-brown hair-line, situated just before the forking of the median vein, and the
outer narrow, cinereous, slightly oblique, but not curved; on the hind wings, which
are concolorous with the fore wings, is a single line, very slightly curved in the mid-
dle; no discal dot on either wing; outer edge distinctly bent; the tail on the hind
wings well developed, but a little less so than in E.flagitiana, and the wings are broader
and shorter, while the anterior pair are not produced so much at the apex. Beneath,
the costal edge is ocherous, but the rest of the wing is whitish-ocherous. The wings
are very transparent, so that the lines distinctly appear through. The ocherous head
and thorax, including the antennae, in distinction from the pale transparent wings,
the pale brown, parallel lines, the inner perfectly straight and the outer one slightly
curved, will separate this species from its allies. Expanse of wings, 1.50 inches.
262. The large scalloped-winged geometer moth.
Stenotrachelys approximaria Guen6e.
In the Southern States feeding on the oak a large geometer whose body is ash gray,
washed with brown, with a dorsal series of white lozenges, lined with black and trav-
ersed in their middle by a twin, interrupted black vascular line. Found in March
and April, the moth remaining in the chrysalis.
This caterpillar, according to Abbot (in Guen6e), lives in Georgia on
Smilax rotundifolia and laurifolia, and, according to Abbot (MS.), on
Quercus. This species is known to inhabit North Carolina as well as
Georgia. In April I found the larvse on the live oak at Crescent City,
Fla., leaving it at the office of the U. S. Entomologist to be reared. The
larvae then in confinement entered the ground to pupate, and of two
bred moths one emerged November 2 and the other November 11. One
proved to be a fine male, the first one I have met with, the female alone
having been described in my monograph of this family. It has plumose
antenna? and is smaller than the female, but has the same shape of
the wings and similar markings.
Larva.— April 22, 1886.— Three larvae of this species were brought to-day by Dr. A.
S. Packard, from Florida; found feeding on above oak. The smallest one of the.
three is about 1 inch in length, uniformly dark purplish-brown, with the exception
188 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
of ;i broad, lighter brown shading along each side of the median line of the me8o- and
meta-thoras and drat abdominal segment. Piliferous warts small, black and project-
ing. Stigmata yellow, with narrow black annulus. Behind the two first abdominal
Stigmata there is B dull black patch, that behind the second being largest. The ver-
tei oi tlif head is bilobed and the lobes rounded at tip. Color of the head dark
oherry-brown, the tip of the lobes lighter. The lower margin of the head and of the
elypens somewhat whitish. Its surface is quite smooth, though there are some very
delicate transverse wrinkles.
The second larva measures l£ inches in length, and is quite pale gray, with more
or less distinct, irregular blackish lines and spots. A very line black line borders
each side of the two posterior thoracic and first abdominal segments, whilst on the
other segments this line borders a more or less elongated, lozenge-shaped, paler gray,
medio-dorsal space. The piliferous warts are of the color of the body, with black
tips. Stigmata whitish, with black annulus. The dull black patch is only present
behind the second stigma. Head concolorous with body; the two lobes are marked
in front with a transverse, dark cherry-brown band.
The third larva is about If inches in length, and very similar to the second one in
coloration, though the color of the middle of the body is somewhat more purplish.
On each of the two posterior thoracic and first abdominal segments is a paler gray
triangular spot, a somewhat squarish, gray spot on the fifth and sixth abdominal
segments, and on each side of the median line on the eighth segments is an oblique
blackish line, both of which meet posteriorly on the median line. The purplish
stripes of the lobes of the head are present. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Pupa. — Pale mahogany-brown ; cremaster very long and sharp, straight, with no
lateral setae. (Described from a broken specimen).
Moth. — It may be recognized by the deeply scalloped wings, and the large head,
which is rather swollen in front. It is whitish gray, the wings clear, not bordered
with brown. The fore wings with two distinct, heavy, black lines, the inuer very
near the base of the wing, regularly curved, a little pointed on the costa. Outer line
bent at right augles on the basal third of the first median vein, the line thence going
straight to the costa, though zigzag in its course; from the rectangular bend, the line
follows a course subparallel to the median line, where it again turns rectangularly,
ending ou the middle of the inner edge of the wing. An inner reddish-brown line is
parallel and near it below the median vein, and above passes just within the faint
discal dot. Beyond this line the wing is speckled with transverse short, linear spots.
A scalloped marginal, distinct black line. Expanse of wings, 1.80 to 1.90 inches.
203. Eubi/ja quernaria (Abbot and Smith).
Gueuee states ou the authority of Abbot's drawing that the cater-
pillar of this moth lives in April and May, iu Georgia, on a species of
Quercus. In the manuscript drawing of Abbot's iu the library of the
Boston Society of Natural History the food-plant drawn is Cratayus
austral is T. and G.
Larva. — Body stouter and shorter than in the larva of Amphidasis cognataria.
Head angular; prothoracic segments swollen ; a tubercle on the back of the third,
the lower part of the side of the first, and ou the back of the penultimate segment.
The body is, in the paiuting, colored slate-gray, with irregular dark spots and longi-
tudinal slashes.
Moth. — Female. Body stout, abdomen thick, with a dorsal row of four large tufts,
the fourth white, the others dark. Antennae black. Head in front and palpi black-
brown ; vertex white, rounded behind by a black thread-line; thorax white, with
two black spots in the center, and spotted with black posteriorly. Abdomen white
on the outer third, with a white interrupted line on each segment, spotted thickly
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 189
on the under side with white. Fore wings long, outer edge very oblique, snow-
white as a ground color ; basal third white, mottled with deep brown, especially on
the costa. The middle third of the wing brown, bordered with the black basal and
extradiscal lines. The basal line is deeply and regularly curved outward ; the extra-
discal line is irregularly and deeply scalloped ; it runs straight from the costa to the
great angle on the median line through two deep scallops ; the angle is jagged and
sharp, and below the line forms a great curve, sending a point outward on the in-
ternal vein. Beyond this line the wing is white, with scattered dark specks, and
with a ferruginous patch just below the sixth subruedian, and a larger one extending
from the second median venule to the inner edge of the wing near the angle. Hind
wings white, more or less densely mottled with brown on the inner two-thirds ; the
extradiscal line is zigzag, with a large angle in the middle of the wing. Beyond
this the markings repeat those of the fore wings. Expanse of wings 5.5mm.
264. Aplode8 mimosaria Guene"e.
This has been bred from the oak by Mr. Walsh in Illinois, while Riley
has found it feeding on the oak at St. Louis, Mo., July 31. It is com-
mon in the New England and Central States.
Larva.- Larva ten-footed, cylindrical, its dorsum with curved lateral appendages
covered with short velvety hairs, and similar to those of Limacodes ? hyalinus Walsh,
except that they are much shorter and none of them abruptly longer than the others.
Of a dingy-brown color, and, including the appendages, about one-fourth of an inch
in diameter. (Walsh.)
Pupa. — The pupa is of a pale ocherous-brown color, varied with reddish-brown,
with many fuscous dots, especially along the nervures of the wing-cases, and with
the caudal spine simple. It measures 0.43 inch, including the spine. (Walsh.)
Moth.— Four males and females. A rather large species, with the antennae moder-
ately well pectinated. Apex of fore wings square, outer edge not very convex.
Hind wings well rounded, less angulated than usual; anal angle square. Body and
wings of the usual pale-green color ; head and antennae white, front bright rose-
colored except on front border. Palpi white ; end of second joint and under side of
third joint roseate. Both pairs of wings crossed by linear, slightly waved, white
lines. Inner line on fore wing, very near the base of wing, regularly curved; outer
line straight, waved, parallel with outer edge. Costa narrowly edged with white.
Fringe white on both wings. Hind wings with the inner line nearer the base of
wing than on fore wings, curved regularly. Outer line bent outward in the middle,
the line not so wavy as on fore wing. Beneath both lines faintly reproduced (not
(i avec une seule ligne blanche," asGuen6e says). Hind wings and posterior two- thirds
of fore wings whitish-green. Outer side of fore femora green, of tibiae dull red ;
two posterior pairs white. Abdomen white, green at base above, with a conspicuous
white spot at base. Expanse of wings 1£ inches. Length of body, male 0.45,
female 0.40.
265. Petrophora diversilineata Hiibner.
Professor Riley found, May 10, at St. Louis, Mo., larvae of this spe-
cies feeding on laurel-oak and elm. Others were found on pear, apple,
cherry, and rose. They are of a deep, rich brown above, sulphur-yel-
low at sides, and pale beneath. All had entered the ground by June 5,
The moths issued November 9. (Unpublished notes.)
EQO- — Cylindrical, much rounded, and fuller at the posterior than at the anterior
end, which is truncated and contracted, with a swollen vein ; white, with the sur-
face granulated.
190 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Larva. — The body above is dark brown, with a slightly reddish tint, and patches
of ;i darker Shade along the dorsal region, being the color of the twigs of its food-
plant. It remains in the papa state about a week.
Pupa.— Body rather stout, wing-covers reaching to the seventh abdominal ring,
counting from t he end; the tip is acutely conical; anal spine large, acute, much
flattened from above downward: bearing two large, curved .spines, with two much
smaller, curved basal spines; abdomen with scattered, acute spiuules arising from
minute black tubercles; pale ash, minutely speckled with darker tine points, with a
dark dorsal line extending from the head to the end of the anal spine. Length 0.55
inch.
Moth. — Thirty males and teu females. Palpi long. Fore wings foliate; outer edge
almost angular. Hind wings slightly scalloped. Body and wings of a uniform
ocheioiis-yellow ; palpi dark in front of the head, tipped with dark browu. Fore
wings uniformly ocherous; a curved, basal, rust-brown line, denticulated on the
veins ; beyond, two parallel, more distinct, concolorous Hues, the inner a little wavy,
directed obliquely to the inner edge; the outer makes a right angle in the submedian
space, crosses the inner line, forming a broad triangular iuclosure on the inner edge
of the wing; beyond is a broad space just beyond the middle of the wing, usually
tilled in with a purplish-brown tint, disappearing before reachiug the costal space;
sometimes there are two central lines in this space, converging a little below the
median vein and forming large riuglets; this mesial space is bounded externally by
a dark rnst-brown line, which ends at the same distance from the base of the wing,
both on the costa and iuuer edge ; in the first median space it forms a large, sharp
projection ; beyond is another coucolorous line, which curves inward to where it is
usually (not always) interrupted by the projection of the other line, and thence goes
straight, though zigzag in its course, to the inner edge of the wing; a similarly
colored, more or less zigzag, oblique, apical line extends to the middle of the wiug,
opposite the projection ; the edge beyond the lines either clear yellow or filled in
with lilac-brown ; a small discal dot. Hind wings clear, a little paler than the fore
wings, with a faint discal dot, sometimes absent; in the outer third of the wing
au angulated, faint, violet-brown line, edged externally with silver, a heavier, dif-
fuse, shorter, submarginal, dark brown, zigzag line, with a slight violet tinge; the
space between this and the wiug suffused with violet-brown, extending only toward
the middle of the wing, or sometimes passing beyond the apex. Beneath the wings
are yellow ocherous, speckled, especially on the hind pair, with coarse, violet-brown
specks. Fore wings clear when covering the hind oues, with three costal spots, the
third in the middle of the costa; beyond the angulated outer line is reproduced ;
apical oblique line distinct, with a violet-brown cloud below. Hind wiugs with
three regularly scalloped lines; the margin of the wing broadly clouded with violet-
brown. Legs yellow ; joints tipped with violet-brown. Abdomeu yellow, tinged
above with rust-brown. Expanse of wings, male 1.30 to 2.10, female 1.35 inches.
266. Eupithecia miserulata Grote.
June 3, 1876. — Found two larva? feeding ou oak. Length about 0.63 of an inch,
of a yellowish color, with brown markings on the back much like arrow-heads with
the points directed towards the head; a brown line over the whole length of the
back and a short brown line each side just behind the head, ending where the last pair
of thoracic legs commence. The larva chauged to pupa June 12, without constructing
a cocoon, suspending itself by the point of the abdomeu; it is also of a yellowish
color. The moth issued June 23. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
The caterpillars of this widespread geometrid were common on the
live oak at Crescent City, Fla., April 9 to 14. The larvae spun a slight
cocoon and pupated April 15, the moth emerging at Washington April
20. Another moth emerged in Providence April 30. In shape, the
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 191
body resembles E. luteata, being somewhat flattened. These caterpil-
lars differed from those bred from the bush juniper at Salem, Mass.,
in wanting the lateral white line. The specimen bred was compared
with those from different States in the National Museum by Mr. John
B. Smith and myself. It seems to feed ou evergreens northward and
in Florida on oak, and may be a general feeder.
Larva. — Pale green; body covered with fine papillae. Prothoracic segment much
swollen transversely; no marking except a brownish linear dorsal line. This was
the young of the moth which issued April 20.
Another larva, whose moth emerged April 30, was more typical. Body somewhat
flattened, with a dorsal series of sharply pointed dark-brown patches, the points ex-
tending into the narrow linear brown dorsal line. On the thoracic segments a lateral
broken heavy dark line, each becoming a pale narrow thread on the abdominal seg-
ments. Length, 18mm.
Pupa.—O).
Moth. — This is our most common pug-moth, and may be distinguished by the
pointed fore wings, with the numerous transverse lines bent sharply outward, the
extradiscal line forming a sharp angle opposite the discal dot, and notched inward
on the subcostal vein ; by the distinct submarginal wavy white line, ending in a large
white twin spot at the inner angle; by the fine dark lines on the hind wings, and by
the heavy black costal spots and marginal lines on the under side. The fore wings
expand 20mm.
267. THE OAK-LEAF ROLLER.
Tortrix quercifoliana Fitch.
In the early part of June, says Fitch, the sides of particular leaves
may be found to be curved upward and drawn slightly together by
silken threads, beneath which lies a slender, grass-green leaf-roller,
which finally pupates in the end of the leaf, the moth appearing in
New York about the 1st of July.
While at St. Augustine, Fla., early in April, I noticed a pale green
leal-roller on the live oaks ou Auastasia Island. April 14 it spun a
slight cocoon, within which the worm changed to a pupa April 16 or
17 ; the moth appeared April 30, after my return to Providence.
Larva.— Grass-green throughout, body tapering slightly posteriorly, but less so
towards the head. Head round, slightly flattened, and "as thick as the neck into
which it is sunken." Length 19mm (0.75 inch).
Pupa. — Body pale and slender, the cast skin thin and unusually so for a Tortrix.
Cremaster or terminal abdominal spine peculiar in being long and narrow, as wide at
the tip as at the base ; the surface above and beneath with fine longitudinal ridges ;
a pair of short dorsal set* near the end ; edge of the extreme tip curvilinear, with
four curved setae of nearly equal length. Each abdominal segment with two rows
of fine teeth. Length, 10mm.
Moth. — Pale tawny yellow, with yellowish brown darker scales and dots and darker
brown lines. Head pale, tawny brown on the vertex, with a small spot in the middle
of the front. Palpi dark, externally pale above and at tip of second joint. Fore
wings pale whitish tawny yellow, densely speckled with darker scales ; on the inner
third of the wing an oblique, dark brown, narrow line beginning on the inner third
of the costa and ending in the middle of the hind margin. An outer parallel line,
which is forked on the costa and ends on the internal angle ; from near the middle
192 FIFTH UKPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSI^*.
the hut- sendi off ■ spar to the apex. ba1 before reaching the apex ■ spur is sent to
rieo a 3-forked line to the outer edge of the wing. Hind fringe, abdomen
and leg! almost white. Kxpanse of wings, SO-*. | Identified by Prof. Fernald.)
Tort r\x Jim x-uimm Kobinsoii.
The habits of another leaf-roller have been observed and related by
Miss Emma A. Smith in Thomas' second report on the injurious insectfl
of Illinois (p. 114). It injures the black, red, burr, white, and pin oaks.
The species has been found io Texas as well as Illinois.
Moth. —Palpi, head and thorax pale ocherous. Anterior wings shining pale yellow,
almost entirely covered with pale olivaceous scales, n that the yellow ground color
is only evident jnel below costa at base, in two small costal spots at and beyond the
middle, and in a similar elongate spot on the disk below the two last mentioned.
Th.re are three brown dots on the costa near the apex, which is also tinged with
brown. Posterior wings fuscous above, tinged apically with ferruginous : beneath
tinged with fuscous internally, pale testaceous beyond. Fringes whitish. Under
surface of anterior wings fuscous except the costa, which is pale testaceous. Ex-
panse, male, *20mm. (Robinson.)
969. THK V-MAKKED CACCECIA.
Caccecia argyrospila Walker.
The moth of this species is not uncommon, entering our houses at
night during July in Maine and Massachusetts. My specimens have
been kindly determined by Prof. C. H. Fernald.
This widespread species was first described in this country by Mr. C.
T. Robinson, in 1869, under the name of Tortrix furrana ; at nearly
the same time or soon after I described it in the Massachusetts Agricult-
ural Report for 1870 under the name of the V marked Tortrix (T. v-sig-
natana), and remarked that Mr. F. W. Putnam had raised it in abun-
dance from the cherry. In his account of this species Lord Walsingham*
remarks that in California it occurred near San Fraucisco, May 19,
1871. u The species also occurred about Mendocino in the middle of
June, and as far north as Mount Shasta in August. One specimen
emerged on the 21st of June from a pupa found a few days previously
between united leaves of JEsculus californica (Nutt.), the Californian
horse-chestnut.
In his Synonymical Catalogue of the Described Tortrieida\ Prof. C.
H. Fernald states :
Professor Riley wrote me that he bred it on rose, apple, hickory, oak, soft maple,
elm, and wild cherry.
It thus appears to be a general feeder on our shade trees, living be-
tween the united leaves. It ranges from Maine, where it is common,
to Georgia, Texas, and Missouri, while it is not uncommon on the
Pacific coast.
* Illustrations of Typical Specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the Collection of
the British Museum, part iv. London, 1879, p. '.'.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 193
It feeds on the oak early in June, as one caterpillar occurred June
11, when it became a chrysalis, the moth appearing June 23. Hence
without much doubt there are two broods, the caterpillar occurring
late in summer turning to chrysalides, and hibernating as such, the
moth flying about in the spring and laying its eggs on the shoots, so
that the larva may hatch when the leaves are unfolding and find its
food ready and at hand. The first brood of caterpillars is found early
iu June, and the second in August and early in September. The moth
is of the size and general shape of the common apple-leaf roller
(Caccecia rosana) and the cherry-leaf roller (G. cerasivorana). differing
in the particulars stated below ; but the caterpillar is more like that of
€. rosayia than C. cerasivo^ana.
According to Professor Riley's unpublished notes this was found
May 15, 1869, on the I. M. R. R. rolling in perfect tubes the leaves of
the common oak. May 26 it pupated, and June 3 three moths issued.
Larva. — Color delicate glass green, with a darker dorsal vesicular line. Not pol-
ished. Piliferous spots polished. Head brown. Cervical shield polished, glass-like,
and scarcely darker than body ; anterior edge lighter. Thoracic legs pale.
Pupa. — May 26 one changed to chrysalis with the abdomen yellowish, the dorsum
roseate and wing-sheaths green ; with two transverse rows of minute teeth on dor-
sum of largest abdominal segments, and also a few long hairs pointing posteriorly.
Six, sometimes seven, tolerably long, curved hooks at extremity, four springing from
the extreme point and two from the sides. Length scarcely 0.50 of an inch. Legs
do not reach as far as the wing sheaths. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Of the usual form and color, but rather stout ; the end of the abdomen has an
unusually large, sharp spino, with two lateral and two terminal large, stout, curved
sette or stiff hairs. Length, 12mm.
Moth. — Head, palpi, and thorax rust-red; fore wings bright rust-red; a broad,
median, rust-red, oblique band bent downward in the middle of the wing ; on each
side are two yellowish-white costal blotches, the outer one usually triangular and
oblique, sending a narrow line to the inner edge of the wing ; a similar line on the
inside of the band. Outer margin of the wing yellowish white, with two tine, rust-
red lines, the outer one at the base of the fringe, which is whitish yellow. Hind
wings pale yellowish slate color, as is the abdomen.
269. Caccecia fervidana (Clemens).
The caterpillar was found by Professor Riley September 1, 1867,
feeding on the oak, covering and inclosing numbers of the leaves by a
white glistening web ; also fastening the brown grains of excrement
together with the silk so that it sometimes forms quite* a large mass.
They were quite numerous in various portions of Illinois, Iowa, and
Missouri.
The worm also generally resides in a sort of silken case. It devours
all the pulpy portions of the leaf. They are found on the burr oak,
though they will eat the leaves of half a dozen varieties that I have
"given them. (Riley.)
There are probably three broods annually of this insect, as in Illinois
it first appears in the middle of May, according to Miss Emma A. Smith,
5 ent 13
1!>4 FIFTH REPORT OP THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
of Peoria.* Professor Riley adds that the eggs, hatched about the
1st of July and last of June, had become moths by the 1st of /Vugust ;
and then again those found September 1 must have been of a third
brood, which winters over in the chrysalis. The eggs, according to
Biley, are placed in clusters on the leaf.
Miss Smith's paper gives quite a full account of the habits and rav-
ages of this insect in her vicinity. This is the Tortri.r paludana of Rob-
inson. It is attacked by Calosomn scrutator Fabr., Podisus spinosm
Dall., also by Dlplodus luridus Stal, and by Pimpla conquisitor Hay.
I. ami. — When full grown. .80 to .85 of an inch. Color dull brownish buff. Form
subeylindrical, being flat below: tapers slightly posteriorly but not anteriorly. Dor-
sum light. A subdorsal darker band, edged above and below with a black line, the
upper one being thickest. Wrinkled transver«ely, one indenture especially in the
middle of each segment. Thoracic segments somewhat largest. Head as wide as
No. 1 and carried nearly horizontally. It is dark brown, mottled with white.
Venter, feet, and legs of same color as subdorsal band. Covered with fine sparse
hairs. This worm is not very active, but when touched wriggles and lets itself down
by a thread. It is quite variable in the depth of shading, some being very light,
while others are quite dark, and some even have a greenish tinge. (Riley's unpub-
lished notes.)
Moth.— Palpi reddish brown, short, the third joint extending beyond the head.
Head and thorax reddish brown above. Anterior wings reddish brown, much
clouded with fuscous beyond the middle. A dark brown patch on the middle of
costa and a smaller one on the disk below it indicate the central fascia. A large
dark brown subapical patch is continued as a broad fuscous shade to internal angle.
Fringes pale. Posterior wings very dark, fuscous above; pale testaceous beneath,
tinged with fuscous internally. Fringes pale testaceous. Abdomen fuscous above,
pale testaceous beneath. Under surface of anterior wings entirely clouded with fus-
cous, giving in some lights a purple reflection. Expanse, male, 20mm ; female, 23mm.
(Robinson).
270. Cenopis quercana (Fernald.)
The caterpillar has been found by Professor Comstock feeding on the
oak, and by Miss Murtfeldt on the cultivated cherry.
Moth. — Thorax and fore wings dull rust-red. Basal patch, median and subapical
bauds lighter in the males and inclining to yellowish on the costa, with strong green-
ish reflections when seen in an oblique light, showing most strongly in the females.
Expanse of wings, 14 to 16mrc. (Fernald).
271. Cenopis reticulatana (Clemens).
Besides the oak the caterpillar is said by Miss Murtfeldt to feed on
the osage orange, maple, persimmon, and pear.
Moth. — Fore wings yellow, finely reticulated with orauge; costa at base tinged
with purple. Central fascia purple, commencing in a spot on the costa before the
middle and ending in the apex of a large triangular spot of the same hue ou the
inner edge. The large purple costal spot throws out a line, which is forked just
below it, one branch running obliquely inward to the triangular spot on the inner
margin, the other outwardly to before the inner angle. Hind wings and fringes
very pale yellow. Expanse of wings, 17 to 22mm. (Robiuson).
'Paper read before the Northern Horticultural Society at Franklin Grove, and
published in the Prairie Farmer January 9, 1878.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 195
272. Cenopis pettitana (Robinson).
The caterpillar of this variable species is said by Miss Murtfeldt to
feed on the oak, hickory, and rose.
Professor Riley found at the same time (May 15, 1869) as Cacoecia
argyrospila, a large grass-green oak roller with a black head and a pale
brown cervical shield and bluish dorsal line, with the thoracic legs
black. June 3, 1869, five moths issued.
Zeller (November 20, 1871) says it is near the European Xanthosetia
hamana, but differs.
Several of them entered the chrysalis s^ate May 26, 1869.
October 9, 1872, received from Manhattan, Kans., a larva feeding on
oak, which possesses several of the characteristics of Perophora mel-
sheunerii. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Length, .625 of an inch; diameter about .10 across the head, which is the
broadest part. Pale yellowish green, somewhat flattened, line, medio-dorsal line,
piliferous spots on dorsum very minute, sides somewhat tuberculated, with con-
spicuous longitudinal row of long, stiff brown hairs arising from brown plates.
Head large, dark brown, not polished, horizontal. First segment horny, pale brown,
constricted behind, roughened like the head with dense minute punctures. Anal
plate orbicular, large, horny, with a glistening whitish punctured surface, with two
conspicuous purple-brown spots and a dark longitudinal dorsal line. Larva forms a
case of web- work on the leaf or between two leaves. Moths issued in early May.
Pupa. — Differs materially from that of Cacoecia argyrospila. It is .55 of an inch in
length. The antennae and legs reach exactly as far as wing sheaths. The color is
very dark brown, and after the moth has left the posterior third behind last row of
teeth is of a lighter reddish brown in contrast. Two rows of teeth on principal
abdominal segments, as in Cacoecia argyrospila. The extremity is blunt with scarcely
any hooks visible, though occasionally a very fine one may be seen. (Riley's unpub-
lished notes.)
Moth. —Fore wings very pale yellow. Costa in the male with two patches of
brownish ocherous scales at the basal aud apical third. Expanse of wings, 22 to
28mm. (Robinson).
273. THE RED-BANDED LEAF ROLLER.
Lophoderus triferanus (Walk.).
Order Lepidoptera ; family Tortricid^e.
Probably originally feeding on the oak, elm, and maple, as well as the
cranberry. The caterpillar occasionally damages clover, corn, straw-
berry, bean, etc. The following notes are copied from Forbes' 3d Eep.
Ins. Illinois:
This species occurs somewhat rarely in Illinois, and has not been reported through-
out its wide range to do any injury except to the cranberry in Massachusetts, where
its larva is locally known as one of the cranberry worms. We bred it, however,
during this past season from pale-green leaf-rollers in young corn, and consequently
may regard it as worthy of brief mention, especially as its local abundance in cran-
berry plantations in Massachusetts would indicate a capacity for excessive multipli-
cation which makes it a possible source of danger in the great corn-fields of the
Mississippi Valley.
The presence of this larva and of that of the sulphur leaf -roller, just treated, is
indicated in corn-fields by the folding lengthwise or rolling of the leaves in May and
196 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Jane. If these leaves be opened, I green wriggling larva will be found inclosed in
a vreb within.
The moth hatching from these folded leaves in June, if Lopkederiu triferanui, may
be recognized as an insignificant brown speeiee, about ■ half inch across the spread
wings. The fore wings ere reddish brown except on tin* terminal fourth, which is
gray speokled with black, as is also the basal half of the posterior edge of th
wings.
The species was first described by Walker in 1863 as Cacwcia triferana, and again
by Clemens in lSt'>.">, in the proceeding! of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia,
under the name of Tort r is imcrtuiia. A better description of the moth, with figures
of male and female, is given by Robinson in Volume II of the Transactions of the
American Entomological Society, under the same specific name.
Aa an injurious insect it is mentioned by Dr. Packard in the Massachusetts Agri-
cultural Report for 1870, and in the Tenth Report of the Geological and Geographical
Survey of Colorado and Adjacent Territory, 1870. By Miss Murtfeldt it is reported
as injurious to the rose, in the third volume of the American Entomologist (1880),
and by Professor Liutner as a clover insect in the Auuual Report of the New York
Agricultural Society for the same year.
This species has been collected from Maine and New York to Illinois and T
and has been fouud feeding on the cranberry, elm, soft maple, oak, apple, rose, beans,
Gnaphalium jyoljicephalum, clover, strawberry, and corn. Our specimens, collected
ou May 29, emerged June 30.
In all the foregoing articles except the first this species is treated under Clemens's
specific name, but in Fernald's Catalogue of the Tortricidre of North America
this is reduced to a synonym of Walker's triferanus. The larva was not distinguished
in our breeding cages from that of the preceding species (Dichelia sulphureana). con-
sequently I am unable to give a detailed description of it. Clemens's description of
the imago is as follows:
Moth. — Palpi ocherous or brownish ocherous except the minute third joint, which
is blackish. Head and thorax ocherous or brownish ocherous. Anterior wings pure
pale reddish brown within the central fascia, except on internal margin, which is
broadly covered at base with blackish brown scales, forming a rather prominent
irregular spot followed by an aggregation of intermediate pale ocherous and black-
ish scales to the fascia. Central fascia broad, distinctly dark brown, sometimes
reddish brown. The subapical costal spot is dark brown and separated from the
central fascia by a reddish brown shade. The remaining outer portion of the wing
pale ocherous except a testaceous brown spot above the anal angle. Fringes dark
ocherous. Posterior wings fuscous above, testaceous beneath. Fringes pah
ceous, much clouded centrally with dark fuscous. Expanse, male 15, female 19mui.
274. Lophoderii8 velutinana Walk.
This species is said by Miss Murtfeldt to feed on the laurel-oak, bal-
sain-tir, and maple.
Moth. — Fore wings pale ocherous, darker on costa at base : a large dark-brown
basal patch, not quite reaching the costa. Middle band dark brown to the middle
of the wing, reddish brown beyond, throwing out a booklet inwardly below the cell,
which curving upwardly nearly incloses a pale ocherous spot. Subapical costal spot
dark brown, semilunate, connected by a paler streak with internal angle. Expanse
of wings, 17mm.
275. Phoxopteris murtfeldtiana Riley.
Three specimens were bred from oak, May 10, by Miss Murtfeldt, in
Missouri.
From Ph. spirecvfoUana, which Dr. Clemens bred from larva? found
feeding on the leaves of Spirwa opuUfoUa, this oak-feeding species dif-
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 197
fers in the oblique central fascia extending to form a sharp angle
towards the apex of wing, in the angulated portion containing two
black streaks, and in this fascia extending, as a faint band, to the
inner margin and beneath the ocellated patch.
Ph. burgessiana Zell., which may not be distinct from pulchellana
Clem., and Ph. laciniana Zell., which, also, may not be distinct from
dubiana Clem., are closely allied to murtfeldtiana, but the basal patch
is darker than in those species, thus resembling sjrirecefoliana. (Riley.)
Moth. — Male : Expanse, 10mm. White, the primaries with a dark-brown patch on
basal half of inner margin and with an oblique fascia extending from the middle of
costa. Head reddish brown ; palpi white, tinged with brown at base. Thorax
white, becoming embrowned on the disk ; primaries white, the apical half shaded
with ferruginous, with a broad blackish-brown patch on the basal half of the inner
margin, the patch rounded on its costal border and having a very indistinct coppery
reflection from some of the scales in particular lights ; from the middle of the costa
an oblique reddish-brown fascia extending to form a sharp angle just before the apex
of wing (these inclosing two black streaks), and retreating suddenly to curve around
the ocellated patch, into which it sometimes sends a slight angle, and to attain the
inner margin of the wing ; this fascia much paler on its inner half than on its costal
half, bounded exteriorly from costa to inner margin by a white line, and shading off
on the inner half of its basal border into the white ground color ; costa beyond the
fascia to the apex streaked with white and ferruginous, the apex ferruginous; just
below the apex two white streaks; ocellated patch white, generally containing a
black streak ; posterior margin ferruginous ; fringes tinged with ferruginous, pale at
base, darker at apical angle ; secondaries gray ; under surfaces gray ; primaries
shaded with fuscous ; legs white, with the usual fuscous shadings on tarsi. Abdo-
men gray, silvery beneath. (Riley.)
276. THE OAK-LEAF CRYPTOLECHIA.
Cryptolechia schlagenella Zeller.
Order Lepidoptera ; family Tineid^e.
This is a remarkable insect, both as a caterpillar and moth. It is not
uncommon in the larval state on the oak, where we have seen it in Maine
and Rhode Island in September. Professor Riley found, October 22,
1882, in Virginia, several larvse of this Tineid feeding on oak. One
moth issued June 2, 1883. It feeds between the leaves, drawing them
together with silk threads. When about to pupate, it turns over a por-
tion of the leaf nearly an inch long, lines the interior of the cell thus
made with silk, and the moth appears the following spring. We have
compared the moth with a type specimen sent to us several*years ago
by the late Prof. P. C. Zeller, and now in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., and it is undoubtedly that species, though
the row of blackish dots so distinct in the fresh specimen reared by us
are not to be seen in the type specimen ; otherwise it agrees exactly
with the latter. It is a not uncommon insect, but, so far as ktiown,
more curious than destructive, though it may at times disfigure the
leaves of valuable shade trees. It is the largest Tineid larva we have
met with.
198 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Luna. — Head large, broad, and flat; as broad as the protboracic segment ; pale
horn or whitish color, surface rough; in front crossed by two dark reddish-brown
broad lint's which form two large shallow scallops; the front line extends along the
sides, including the eyes and the front edge of the clypeus ; the other is broader,
forming two scallops and crossing the apex of the clypeus. On each side of the head
below the front line is a short, nearly straight brown-black line not reaching as far
as the eyes. The median sntnre of the head is rather deeply impressed ; the vertex
on each side is a little swollen and marked with eight or nine dark reddish-brown
more or less coutlueut spots. The posterior edge of the head is edged with black
brown. The body is somewhat flattened, pale pea green, a little paler than the
under side of the leaf. Protboracic segment without a shield, but broad, flat, and
green like the rest of the body. On the sides of the three thoracic segments is a
dark tubercle tinged with reddish between, forming a lateral thoracic line. No dor-
sal tubercle, but pale hairs as long as the body arise from minute points, which are
obscurely indicated. Length, 23BWB.
Papa. — Body very thick and stout; the head broad, and the abdomen short and
thick, the end of the body very blunt, the tip broad and obtuse, somewhat tubercu-
lated, not spined. The wings reach to the end of the fifth abdominal segment ; and
on the under side of the sixth and seventh segments are two dark ventral small cal-
losities ; the tip is broad, truncated, rough and dark. Length, 10mm ; thickness,
3.5mm.
Moth. — A very large species for the family to whicl it belongs. Head with the
scales between the antenna? and on the vertex loose and thick, not smooth as in
Gelechia. Palpi long and slender, smooth, the third joint very long and slender, over
one-half as long as the second. It is so large and the fore wings so broad and oblong,
that at first it might be mistaken for a Tortrix. Body and wings snow white. Fore
wings snow white, with two smoky trim dots at the base of the wing near the costa;
two smoky spots inside of the middle of the wing on the internal edge. Beyond the
middle of the wing are five or six indistinct, pearly, smoky spots, the central one
apparently forming the discal dot. Two faint, curved, 6moky lines parallel with
each other and to the outer edge, neither of them reaching the costal edge of the
wing, and the inner less than one-half as wide as the outer. On the outer edge of
the wing, on the white fringe, is a row of about five conspicuous dark-brown spots ;
the base of the fringe is smoky, forming a faint line. Body, hind wings, abdomen,
and legs snow-white ; antennae light brown. On hinder part of the thorax very dis-
tinct when the wings are closed, is a large prominent tuft of broad brown scales,
which send off different metallic colors, especially steel-hlue. Length of body, 9 to
10mm ; of fore wing, llmm ; expanse of wings, 24r
I nun
277. THE BROWN CRYPTOLECHIA.
Cryptolechia quercicella Clemens.
The leaves of the oak and, as we have found tbe past season, the
aspen, are often bound together by a rather large flattened Tineid cat-
erpillar, laager in size than most larva? of the family to which it belongs.
It is of about the size of the caterpillar of V. schlagenella.
The larva of the present species (originally described by Clemens as
Psilocorsis quercicella) was said by that author* to bind the leaves of
oaks together in August and September (in Pennsylvania) and to pick
out the parenchyma between the network of veins; to weave a slight
cocoon between two leaves, appearing as a moth in March and April.
*Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Phil., June, 1860. See also Clemens's Tineina of North
America, edited by H. T. Stainton, p. 149.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 199
Our observations confirm the accuracy of Clemens's statements. In
1884 we reared it from the oak in Providence, the moths in confinement
appearing May 3 to 13 of the following spring.
During the season of 1886 we found the larvae both on the oak and
on the aspen at Brunswick, Me., during the last week in August (the
25th to 31st). It disfigures these trees by binding the leaves together,
where it occupies a gallery in the mass of excrement filling the space.
It weaves a slight, but quite consistent, oval, flat cocoon between the
somewhat crumpled leaves; the moths appeared in the breeding cages
from May 15 to 20 ; at first sight the moth resembles a Tortrix, the
wings being wide and broad at the end, and the markings plain; it is
very different in appearance from the moth of the other species we have
mentioned, which is white, with longer, narrower wings. The abdomi-
nal spine of the chrysalis is also very peculiar in shape.
Larva. — Body flattened. Head wide, slightly narrower than the prothoracic seg-
ment; dark brown; prothoracic shield dark brown, slightly paler than the head.
Body behind pale livid greenish flesh-colored ; no dorsal setiferous warts, but on each
side of each segment are two dark warts of unequal size giving rise to long hairs;
below them are two smaller, paler, less conspicuous warts. Supra-anal plate large,
broad, rounded, blackish, with five setiferous warts around the edges of the plate.
All the legs concolorous with the body. Length, 12mm.
Pupa. — Of the shape of the Tortricidae, being unusually stout and of a mahogany
brown color. Abdominal segments peculiar in having a single, finely crenulated
ridge passing dorsally and laterally around the front edge of the segment; there are
no teeth or spines, but a rough surface on the ridge with confluent granulations.
The tip is peculiar, the last segment being conical, with a stout spine (cremaster),
which is rounded, a little flattened, and ending in two forks, from the sides and ends
of which arise in all 6 to 8 loug bristles, which stick into the silken lining of the
rather slight cocoon in which it transforms. Length, 7mm.
Moth. — Recognized by its large size, broad square wings, and long slender palpi,
curving backwards high over the head. Head, thorax, and fore wings tawny gray,
with a line of fine dark scales on the base of the antennae and on the upper and under
side of the last joint of the palpi. Fore wings uniform tawny gray, mottled with
fine blackish scales; no distinct markings except a dark diffuse discal dot. Fringe
gray. Hind wings and abdomen as well as the legs shining pale tawny gray, much
lighter than the fore wings; beneath of the same color, except that the fore wings
are somewhat dusky except on the outer edge and outer half of the costal margin.
Expanse of wings, 20r
)mm
278. THE WHITE BLOTCH OAK-LEAF MINER.
Litkocolletis hamadryadella Clemens.
Order Lepidoptera ; family Tineid^e.
This miner makes a whitish blotch-like mine upon the upper surface
of the leaves of different oaks. It is a minute, flat, horny, footless,
active, brownish-yellow larva, which transforms within the mine in a
delicate disk-like cocoon.
Several species of oak are injured by this leaf-miner, which ranges
from New York to Washington. Sometimes each leaf will contain on
an average four or five miners, and young shade trees are thus weak-
200 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
ened by their attacks iii .June. There arc in Washington five or six
broods of moths. The best remedy is to collect and burn the fallen
leaves in the spring, since they contain the worms in their final stage
before transforming. (Comstock.)
V
0
^t
*c
m
Fig. 61. — Oak leaf, -with blotch-mine of Lithocolletis hamadryadella.
I have noticed the larva and its mines in abundance at Providence
in September and October. "
The following notes have been furnished by Professor Eiley:
Received July 5, 1SS4, from X. H. Bishop (Griswold collection), Daveuport, Iowa, a
lot of leaves of different kinds of oak. badly infested with larva of the above insect.
On some of the large leaves the entire upper surface was undermined. The same in-
sect is also very common on all kinds of oak on the Agricultural grounds at Wash-
ington, D. C. The moths commenced to issue July 12 to July IS. and at the same
time quite a number of four different species of parasites issued. | Unpublished notes.)
The moth has white front wings, with three broad irregular bronze bauds across
each one. each band being bordered with black on its inuer side. The hind wings
«ry. The wings expand .2S inch. (Comstock.)
219. LithocoUeti8 tubifertlhi Clemens.
The mine of this insect is represented at A in Fig. 62, which has been
identified by Mr. W. Beutenmuller, who thinks that the other mine (at
C) is the work of a Nepticula.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES.
201
J
A
B.
If M>.
/
c
Fig. 62.— A, mine of Lithocolletis tubiferella.—BTidgh&m, del.
260. Fitch's oak-leaf miner.
Lithocolletis fitchella Clemens.
Order Lepidoptera ; family Tixeidje.
This species forms a tent-like mine on the under surface of the leaves
of different species of oaks. It is a minute, nearly cylindrical, white
larva. The mine is visible on both sides of the leaf, while that of
L. hamadryadella is to be seen only on the upper side. The insect
hybernates in the pupa state within the leaves, so that the same general
remedy of gathering and burning the leaves will apply to this as to
the preceding leaf-miner. (Comstock.)
This is a very common species on all kinds of oak at Washington,
202 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
I). C. Specimens were also received from Miss M. Murtfeldt, Kirk-
wood. Mo. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
ntffl has pale reddish saffron fore wings, with a alight brassy hue. Along the
front t I arc live silvery- white OOfltsJ streaks: on the inner margin are two
conspicuous silvery ilorsal streaks, while the hind wings are grayish fuscous. (Com-
^toik."!
281, Ypsolophus quercipomonella Chambers.
The following account of this Tineid has been furnished us by Pro-
fessor Kiley :
At Glenwood, Mo., folding up the leaves of the black oak in little tubes. June 2,
1808, one changed to chrysalis. The chrysalis is formed within the leaf, the cater-
pillar first lining it with a little white silk. The first moth issued June 15, and
others up to the 22nd. Zeller says it is the same as a variable, often lighter brown
spotted species, which he has often received from Ohio. (Unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Length, .00 inch. A striped white and black worm with a red-brown
head and cervical shield. Considering the ground color as white, there is a black
dorsal line somewhat restricted at the joints, and on each side of the dorsum another
somewhat wavy line, separated from a lateral broader one only by a fine white line.
Outer edge along stigmata white, and all underneath it black glaucus. Piliferous
spots above quite large and black with a white aunulation, two of them situated
in a black wavy line and one on lateral black line just above stigmata. Stigmata
small, with a smaller piliferous spot just below it, and others on venter. Segment 1
dark below cervical shield. Segment 2 darker than the others, with a white anterior
edge. Last two segments almost entirely black above, being sharply separated from
anus and anal prolegs, which are of a very light yellow. Feet black. Abdominal
prolegs same as venter. Single white bristle from each spot. (Riley.)
Pupa. — The chrysalis averages .38 inch in length, with the abdomen comparatively
narrow and small compared with the width of the anterior half, the extremity taper-
ing to a single point ; of the normal color, but characterized especially by having
about six pairs of little elevations on the dorsum, immediately behind the thorax,
and three others each side of them along the upper edge of wing-sheaths. It is quite
active, and whirls its body around at a great rate when disturbed. (Unpublished
notes.)
232. The oak sack-bearer.
a * b
Coleophora, species not determined.
Order Lepidoptera; family Tixeid.e.
We have found this interesting sack bearer on
oak leaves at Providence, R. I., June 16. It ap-
parently belongs to the genus Coleophora, which
inhabits tubular cases, either straight or more
or less coiled at the end, which the caterpillar
fig. w.-coieophora, or oak drags about with it, suddenly withdrawing in
sack-bearer, natural size: it when fijsrUrbed. The little circular masses on
<i. side view. 6, dorsal view,
enlarged.— Gissier. del. each side of the coil are the pellets of excrement.
283. Odontota rubra Web.
Order Coleoptera; family Chrysomelid^e.
Professor Riley found, November 4, 1876, three larva? of this beetle
mining in the leaves of the white oak, near River des Peres. (Unpub-
lished notes.)
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 203
284. The leaf-rolling weevil.
Attelabus bipustulatus Fabr.
Order Coleoptera; family Curculionid.e.
Rolling up the leaves of the red, post, and laurel oak (Q. imbricaria), late in April,
forming compact, cylindrical cases containing a single egg ; the case dropping to the
ground, the larva after hatching feeding on the food around it, and finally transform-
ing into a long-snouted weevil. A second brood of larvae in July. (Murtfeldt.)
This beetle has the curious habit of rolling up a leaf, trimming and
tucking in the lower ends with her beak. The egg is first deposited near
the tip of the leaf, and a little to one side ; the blade of the leaf is then
cut through on both sides of the midrib, about an inch and a half be-
low ; a row of punctures is made on each side of the midrib of the sev-
ered portion, which facilitates folding the leaf together, upper surface
inside, after which the folded leaf is tightly rolled up from the apex to
the transverse cut, bringing the egg in the center; the concludiug oper-
ation is the tucking in and trimming off the irregularities of the ends.
A few days after completion the cases, first observed the latter part of
April, drop to the ground; by May 15 several larvae hatched and fed on
the dry substance of their nest, and by the end of May they pupated
within the nest; this state lasted from five to seven days, the first
beetles issuing by June 2, while a second brood of larvae may be found
early in July. (Murtfeldt.)
" On the leaves of the laurel oak, in the neighbor-
hood of St. Louis, Mo., are often found in May little
thimble-shaped cases, which are the work of the above
insect. The tips of the leaves are folded and rolled up
into that peculiar shape after the egg has been de-
posited.
" The egg is almost globular, slightly ovoid, tender,
pale yellowish, and translucent. It is deposited near
the tip on the under side of the leaf. The leaf is then FlG; M.-Aiteiabus
cut transversely near its middle, punctured a short smith dk"'1**'"
distance each side of midrib, which causes it to fold
with its lower side out, then curled round, and the outer edges tucked
in." (Riley's unpublished notes.)
The larva.— Average dorsal length, 0.22 inch ; diameter on abdominal segments, 0.06
inch, tapering anteriorly from fourth segment. Yellowish white ; thoracic segments
slightly depressed on the back and smaller beneath ; abdominal segments convex
above and flat beneath, each one divided into three irregular shallow transverse folds,
lateral surfaces with a double row of smooth polished oval tubercles, most symmetrical
in form and position from segments 4 to 11 inclusive; above the tubercles on each
segment is a deep depression. Head horizontal, rounded, small, about half the* diam-
eter of segment next behind, into which it retreats ; white, the mandibles and other
mouth parts reddish brown, surrounded by long hairs.
204 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Tin jiujHi is oream whre, 0.12 inch long; abdominal segments sharply ridged; pos-
terior extremity terminate! in ■ pair of bristly points, white, tipped with brown.
The both is ■ small, highly polished black weevil, with two large orange-red spots
at basea of the wing-cover. (Miss Murtfeldt.)
I have also found, May 30, on the leaves of the oak near Providence,
the rolls made by the same species of Attelabus, apparently, but they
were slenderer than those of the Attelabus found upon the alder.
Fig. 65.— Rolls on oak leaf made by Attelabus bipustulatus. -Gissler del.
1 have also found on the leaves of the oak at the end of May, near
Providence, Cryptorhynchus bisujnatus Say. It may prove to live at the
expense of this tree.
INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES.
205
284. Brachys cvrosa Melsheimer.
Order Coleoptera ; family Buprestid.e.
I have found this small Buprestid upon the leaves of the
oak early in summer in Maine, and late in May near Provi-
dence, R. I. It most probably mines the leaves of the
oak, but its habits are not yet known. The late Mr. V. T.
Chambers ouce wrote me that he had often found in Ken-
tucky " a Brachys larva (scarcely, if at all distinguish-
able from that of B. ceruginosa) mining the leaves of oaks,
but have never bred the beetle."
We introduce a cut of B. aeruginosa, much enlarged, to
illustrate a larva of this genus.
285. Brachys ovata Web.
Fig. 66. Larva
of Brachys
ceruginosa. —
Packard.
On laurel oak; the imago issues the latter part of April and early
May. (Riley's unpublished notes.) Mr. C. P. Gillette reports rearing
the beetle from a larva mining a leaf of either the red or black oak.
(Can. Ent, XIX, 139, 1887.)
286. Chlamys plicata Fabr.
We have given some account of this pretty beetle in our " Guide to
the Study of Insects," p. 510. It was reared by Mr. S. H. Scudder from
the sweet fern.
"August 24, 1876, found on Quercus bicolor curious little coleopterous
case-bearers. The abdomen of the larvae, as
far as it can be seen, is yellow with a trans-
verse black patch on first segment just be-
hind the head. Head black ; legs long ; yel-
low, with last joint black ; the case is dark-
brown, nearly black, of the shape of the
shell of some kind of snail or like a little
horn." ( Riley's unpublished notes.)
Fig. 67.— Chlamys plicata: a, larva
taken from its case,— From
Packard ; Emerton del.
287. Selandria quercus- alba Norton.
A species of slug-worm like that of the pear (S. cerasi) has been
observed by Mr. Edward Norton living abundantly on the white oak,
and also in abundance on the English oak (Q. robur), at Farmington,
Conn.
"They feed in companies when young, sometimes twelve on a leaf,
head outward, devouring the epidermis of the under side of the leaf,
and not eating holes through. The eggs are not laid in the ribs of the
leaf, but in the smooth surface between the upper and lower skin near
the tip of the leaf, where whitish, irregular blotches are soon formed,
visible only beneath, from the center of which the larva comes forth. I
206 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
have bred many specimens, coming forth in twelve or fourteen clays."
i Norton.)
J.arvn. — They are naked, slimy slugs, like those of S. eerasi, 22-footed ; color palo
greeil, at timet almost white, enlarged near head. Head white, the six anterior legs.
amethystine brown, tail segment constricted, rather sharp. (Norton.)
Sun- Hi/. — Male and female: Shining black, short and compressed ; antenna' slightly
enlarged in middle, third joint nearly as long as fourth and fifth ; head polished ;
lower ocellus in an oval basin, with three pits beneath; body wholly black; legs
black, the two anterior pairs clear white below the middle of femora ; tips of their
tibia- waxen : the basal two-thirds of posterior tibia- and of first tarsal joint white;
tarsi fuscous, apical joint of all the tarsi waxen-white; inner tooth of cl^ws minute,
beneath the middle. Wings hyaline, iridescent, nervures blackish, first submarginal
cell rounded at base. (Norton.)
287. Selaiidria diluta Cress.
Order Hymenoptera ; family Texthredixidje.
The following account of this saw-fly has been furnished by Prof.
Riley :
Spring larva1 feeding on the under side of the leaves of the post-oak, often several
together during the latter part of May. Just previous to entering the ground the
larva sheds its spring skin; enters ground the last of May or early in June. Flies
emerge about the first of May following. (Unpublished notes.)
Larva. — Length of full-grown larva, f inch. Color, pale translucent green, pur-
plish on dorsum ; head, green, with two large black spots near the top, and four mi-
nute black dots below them, just above the jaws. Dorsum and sides quite thickly
covered with spiny tubercles, those on dorsum bifid, while the lateral ones are single.
Thoracic legs yellowish, prolegs of the same color as the general surface. (Riley.)
288. Cecidomyia q.-pUula Walsh.
Order Diptera ; family Cecidomyiid.e.
.i q.pilukr. After Riley
The following notes on this Dipterous gall-fly have been copied from
Professor Riley's notes. I have found it common on the oak in Octo-
ber, at Providence:
Found in abundance on the laurel-leaved oak, the gall always on the upper surface
with the nipple on the under surface of the leaf (October 25, L869). I find in every
DIPTEROUS LEAF-GALLS ON OAK. 207
well-developed gall two larvae, the two cells sometimes separated, but more gener-
ally running into one. The larva is of the usual orange color, but appears to be
somewhat shorter and thicker than those I have before noticed. Length, when not
crawling, .14 of an inch. Head quite pointed, and the first few segments doubly
wrinkled. Two appendages at head, and two brown spots near it superiorly. Breast-
bone brown and clove-shaped. Terminal segment with two acute prominences.
October 29, 1869. Upon opening several galls to-day, I found one which contained
four larvae, two in each cell.
January 1, 1870. Many of the larvae are on top of the ground, though most of them
are yet in the galls. Some of the galls have become softer, and have peeled open ;
and it is from these, I think, that the larvae have escaped.
April 3. I examined them to-day and find that, though some of them are empty, the
great majority of them contain either pupae or larvae. The larva works and loosens
a passage, pushing the de'bris to the surface. It then lines its cell with a delicate
silken lining, and transforms to a pupa of the exact color of the larva ; the head being
furnished behind the antenna? with two thorns ; the wing-sheaths reaching to the
third abdominal joint, and the hind legs, which are free from the body, to the fifth.
Many of the galls contain a white parasitic maggot with a conspicuous black pointed
head, divided longitudinally with a lighter line and with two brown spots behind it.
May 2, 1870. Many of the flies have issued, but all so far seem to be females. The
antennae are 14-jointed (double jointed -f- 12) and are scarcely at all verticillate, and
only the slightest restriction on basal one; no pedicels; length of joints very grad-
ually decreasing from 3 to 14. Nervules of wings as in true Cecidomyia. On opening
many galls to-day I find most of the larvae within cells. A great number of parasites
have issued within the past few days, and on opening the galls I find the perfect para-
site within a cell between two others occupied by Cecidomyia larvae. So many of
the galls are empty, that I greatly incline to believe some of the larvae left them
and entered the ground, the more so that the pupal integuments were all on the
ground.
July 22, 1870. Larva just hatched and barely visible. Gall itself fully formed and
golden yellow. (MSS. notes. Also see Amer. Ent., Vol. II, p. 29.)
289. Cecidomyia quercus-majalis Osten Sacken.
Blister-like gall of Cecidomyia on young leaves of the pin-oak
( Quercus jtalastris). Generally these galls occur on the principal ribs
of the leaf; sometimes between the ribs. They are oblong, blister-like,
the hollow surface somewhat uneven, wrinkled, walls thin ; color pale
green or reddish. They bulge out on one side of the leaf and have a
longitudinal slit on the other. Galls projecting on the under side of
the leaf and having the slit on the upper side seem to be somewhat
more common than those of the opposite description. The slit can be
opened without injuring the gall by gently pulling at the sides. Such
galls which grow upou a rib show a trace of it on their longitudinal
diameter. The larva, which can be taken out of the slit without lacer-
ating the gall, is rather larger than the majority of the larvae of Ceci-
domyia (about 0.2 of an inch long), and not reddish, as usual, but white,
smooth ; the breast-bone is hardly visible, as its front part only is horny,
having the appearance of a transverse, reddish-brown wavy line." The
last abdominal segment has several minute, fleshy, pointed projections.
The larva drops to the ground through the slit at a certain period of its
development; hence, empty galls are often found. Found in consid-
208 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
arable cambers in the Central Park, New York, iu May, 18G9. (Osten
Sacken, Trans. Amer. Bnt Hoc. iii, 53.)
< nri/tlituti an udta (Say). {Tingi* avcuata Say.)
Order Hk.miptera; family TUffGl m> i .
The following notice of this bug is eopied from Professor Riley's
notes :
Jane 26, L876, found in Ofallon Park, on 1 1 1 «- under side of leaves of white oak, the
eggs, newly hatched larva-, and other- in various development, as well as a
few mature insects. Eggs laid in patohes, but n<»t sloes together, being net
ularly : they are pointed at both ends and attached by oue end, and are of a dull
black color. (See also Liutner, 4th Rep. p. 108, Figs. 42, 43.)
291. The oak-leaf phylloxera.
Phylloxera rileyi Lichtenstein.
This insect forms a yellow circular spot on the under side of the leaf,
but showing plainly above, of the white and post oak ; the species is of
small size and unusually slender, and with long tubercles in the pupa.
A full account has been published by Riley iu Seventh Mo. Kept., pp.
118-121.
292. Lachnus qaercicolens Ashmead.
This plant louse was found by Ashmead early in February in Florida,
feeding on the under surface of the leaves of the live oak (Quercus
virens) ; winged specimens, however, were not taken until April
Wingless female. — Length, .05 inch, ovate; reddish, becoming brown with age.
Vertex of head brown; beak reaching to the middle coxre, reddish at the base, yel-
lowish in the middle and brown at tip ; antenme 7-jointed, reaching to the honey
tubes, whitish, basal joint reddish; joints annulated at tip with black; apical joint
short, black; honey tubes almost obsolete, as wide as long, whitish; style hardly
visible, whitish, pubescent, legs pubescent, posterior pair dark brown or black, mid-
dle and anterior pair reddish-yellow, feet infuscated.
Winged individual. — Length, .05 inch. Same as apterous female, excepting that
the abdomeu is lighter in color ; the middle femora and coxa? dark brown, and wings
hyaline, with the stigma and veins green. (Ashmead, Can. Ent, XIII, 155.)
293. Phylla})his niger Ashmead.
This in some respects auomalous Aphis was detected feeding on
a tender shoot of the willow oak (Quercus phellos, variety laurifoliee).
No winged specimens were found. The broad head, slightly pubescent
abdomen, and other characters exclude it from the genus Lachnus.
Wingless female. — Length .05 inch, ovate and of a shining black color; head broad,
nearly as loug as wide, slightly arcuate in front aud with two longitudinal depres-
sions on the vertex;: beak long, reaching beyond hind coxa?, black at base, but be-
coming reddish towards tip and slightly pubescent, antenna? 7-joiuted, situated very
widely apart and not on tubercles, brownish in color, with the terminal joint very
minute ; metathorax a broad, smooth, shiuiug, convex plate; abdomeu wider than
long, and sides flattened to honey tubes, slightly pubescent : honey tubes black, almost
obsolete, as wide as long; style not visible, anus pubescent; legs dark brown, ap-
proaching black, pubescent, posterior pair long. (Ashmead.)
PLANT-LICE OF THE OAK. 209
294. Drepanosiphum f quercifolU (Walsh).
Larva. — Pale greenish. Incisures of the antennae dusky. Upper surface of the
body, except the scutel, dusky ; houey tubes long, robust, dusky at tip ; legs long,
with the terminal three-fourths of the femora, the extreme tips of the tibiae, and the
tarsi obfuscated.
Imago — Blackish ; prothorax and anterior part of the thorax sometimes varied with
greenish ; scutellnm pale greenish ; houey tubes two-thirds as long as the femora.
Legs very long ; basal half of femora pale greenish. Wings hyaline ; veius brown; third
discoidal vein hyaline at its origin ; stigma and subcostal veins pale yellowish
brown ; extreme tip of the front wings slightly fumose ; length of the wings scarcely
.2 inch. "The anten lae attain the extreme tips of the wings when the wings are ex-
panded, and the stigma is four times as long as wide and very acute at each end.
On oak leaves." (Thomas.)
Although it is impossible to state positively from this description the
genus to which this species belongs, yet I think it is almost certain that
it should be placed in the genus to which I have assigned it. It is
certainly not an Aphis, in the restricted sense, and the plant it infests
would indicate that it is not a Siphonophora. (Thomas, Third Keport.)
293. Myzocallis bella (Walsh).
"Aphis bella.— Oak leaves? Bright yellow, eyes black; antennae with the tips of
joints 3 to 6 black. Prothorax as long as the head, with a lateral black vitta ; thorax
with a black vitta extending from its anterior angle to the base of the front wing.
Honey tubes scarcely as long as the tarsi, generally immaculate, sometimes tinged
with fuscous. Legs long, black except the base of the femora and the coxae. Wings
hyaline ; front wings with the entire costa as well as its nervures black to the tip of
the stigmas, whence there extends a marginal dusky vitta, as wide as the costa at
base and middle but tapering at tip, nearly as far as the middle branch of the third
discoidal vein ; this vitta covers the entire length of the fourth or stigmatal vein,
which terminates half way between the tip of the stigma and the apex of the wing,
is slightly and gradually curved, and incloses a marginal cell not wider thau the
costa; hind wings with a costal dusky vitta extending to the tip of the wing, the
subcostal vein sometimes black ; remaining veins of both wings slender and pale
dusky, narrowly bordered with subhyaline where they traverse the terminal dusky
vitta of the front wing. Length to tip of wings .15 inch.
"The antennae attain the middle of the stigma when the wings are expanded,
and the stigma is rather more than three times as long as wide, not very acute at
each end." (Walsh.)
" The 22d of May, 1878, I discovered, at Carbondale, Ills., on the
leaves of the burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa), plant lice, which I am
inclined to believe belong to the species just described. In order that
the reader may be in possession of all the facts concerning the species,
I add here a description of these specimens :
" Winged individuals (the only kind seen). — Rather slender, of medium size; the
body and all the parts except the wings a pretty creamy yellow color ; the wings thin
but clouded with fuscous, which is very distinct in the living insect, while the wings
stand erect above the abdomen ; these fuscous or cloudy spots appear to fall chiefly
into two irregular oblique bands, one rather in advance of, and the other behind the
stigma, but when a single wing is examined this arrangement will scarcely be
observed. Costal and subcostal veins of the front wings close together, and parallel
throughout ; second discoidal vein decidedly sinuate and much nearer to the third
5 ENT 14
210 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
than to the first : third obsolete at the immediate base, curving somewhat strongly
outward as it approaches the origin of the drat fork; second fork rather nearer to the
apt\ of the wing than to the third vein, but difference slight; fourth vein very
sharply curved throughout, so that its middle portion approaches much nearer the
ftnt fork than its ends. Antenna- longer than the body, slender: third joint longest ;
fourth a little shorter than the third; fifth a little shorter than the fourth; sixth
about half the length of the fifth or less; seventh, in the only complete antenna*
obtained, about as long as the fifth.
" Ou most of the specimens I was unable to observe aiiy honey-tubes ;
but in one specimen found on the same leaves, and which appears to
belong to this species, these were apparent but very short, their length
scarcely exceeding their diameter. This specimen was of the same
delicate yellowish color, but the wings were perfectly pellucid. It is
impossible to decide in reference to the honey-tubes from the mounted
specimens, which are imperfect. On one of these specimens I found a
species of mite fastened to the metathorax or base of the abdomen, so
us not to interfere with the flight of the Aphis. It is probably a species
of Trombidium, but as it is evidently in its larval state it is difficult to
assign it to its proper position. It is probably the young of Dr.
Packard's T. bulbipes, but it differs from that species in not having the
tarsi enlarged. It also has the tarsi furnished with two strongly
curved claws. It is possible that this is Dr. Fitch's Lachnus quercifolicc,
but it is impossible to identify the two from bis very brief description.
It approaches very nearly to Aphis quercus Kalt., which Koch has
placed in CaUipterus, and I would have identified it with that species
but for the clouded wings. It will fall in Myzocallis as I have given
the characters of that genus, and is probably a variety of the species
under which I place it." (Thomas.)
296. CaUipterus discolor Monell.
Prof. Riley found, November 12, 1884, at Washington, D. C, on the
lower side of leaves of Q.prinus, numerous specimens of the apterous
oviparous females, larva1, and the winged males of the above species.
The male is of a more or less dark rose color, though the fourth, fifth and last
abdominal segmeuts are yellowish, with a roseate tinge at sides. Head black. Ocelli
clear, colorless. Eyes red. Antennal joints 3 and 4 whitish with blackish tips, the
others black. Thorax black. There are two roseate stripes on prothorax and the
sides of the mesothorax at insertion of the wings are dusky. There are two dorsal
rows of black spots on the abdomen, of which the pair in front of the nectaries is con-
fluent. A row of large, black, roundish, lateral spots and some smaller ones of differ-
ent sizes between these and the dorsal rows. There is also a narrow, transverse baud
on the eighth segment. Nectaries short, black. Claspers blackish. Legs colorless,
the tarsi pale dusky. Sternum black. Ou the venter are some large, transverse, and
some smaller black spots. (Unpublished notes.)
'JD7. CaUipterus puuetatus Monell.
Professor Riley found, May 19, 1S83, at Washington, D. C, numerous
specimens on the lower side of leaves of Q. prinus of an Aphid which
PLANT-LICE OF THE OAK. 211
agrees with the above species. There were many winged specimens
which already had deposited numbers of larvae. (Unpublished notes.)
298. Callipterus quercifolii Thomas.
Winged specimen. — Antennae Dearly as long as the body, seven jointed; first joint
quite large and very prominent, nearly twice the length and twice the diameter of
the second joint, which is rather small, and of the usual suborbicular form ; the
third joint longest, but it exceeds the fourth very little, fifth very little shorter than
the fourth ; sixth not more than one-third the length of the fifth ; seventh a little
shorter than the sixth.
The wings as usual ; third discoidal vein of the front pair twice- forked ; the hind
pair with two discoidal or branch veins ; all the veins and branches are bordered
with dark brown, giving them the appearance, when seen through a pocket magni-
fier, of broad black veins ; the bordering does not expand at the tops of the veins,
but retains its uniform width throughout. Stigma opaque, brown, with a posterior
bordering of brown, fusiform in shape^being very acutely pointed at the apex, with
no internal angle at the point where the fourth vein arises.
Costal vein very distinct, and rather prominent, it and the subcostal vein are
remarkably parallel, the distance apart scarcely varying in the smallest degree from
the base to the stigma. Distance between the insertion of the first and second, and
second and third veins about equal; the second fork about equally distant from the
apex and first fork. Fourth vein nearly straight at its base, curving regularly but
not sharply towards its apex, runs very nearly with the first fork of the third vein.
The front of the mesothorax distinctly broader than the prothorax, the offset form-
ing a distinct shoulder, the abdomen terminating suddenly and bluntly ; no tail ap-
parent. Honey-tubes very short and thick, slightly enlarged at the base, the length
greater than but not twice the diameter.
When seen through a pocket lens, these (alcoholic) specimens appear dark brown ;
the antennae annulated alternately with dark brown, or fuscous and white; the legs
brownish or dusky with the base of the femora and tips of the tibiae pale ; the wings
transparent with the broad dark brown or fuscous veins previously described. The
body dark brown except the tip of the abdomen, which is pale and shows traces of
transverse dark bands. (Thomas.)
Wingless specimen. — Somewhat regularly ovate, but subtruncate at the posterior
extremity, or, at least, rounded very suddenly and bluntly to the tip. Antennas not
quite as long as the body, showing the light and dark annulatious very distinctly.
Eyes of this as well as the winged specimens reddish-brown. The ground color of
thevbody of the alcoholic specimens is a pale, dirty yellow, but the dorsal surface is
chiefly occupied by broad transverse brown or fuscous bands which extend to the
somewhat broad, depressed portion of the lateral margins; there is one band on each
segment; a pale line runs along the middle of the back from the head to the tail.
Legs as in the winged specimens. Scattered over the body are stiff, spine like black
hairs; it is also more or less covered with small tubercles. Honey-tubes as in the
winged specimens — pale yellow.
Length of winged specimen to the tip of the abdomen (which is somewhat shrunken),
.06 inch; to the tip of the wings, .15 inch.
Professor Bundy, of Sauk City, Wis., from whom the specimens were
received, makes the following statement in reference to them:
Abdomen of the female light green below ; black above, with four greenish spots;
honey-tubes and tip of the abdomen white ; head aud thorax black, shining-above.
Eyes black: antennae light, banded with black ; wings with widened veins and tinged
with purple (reflection).
On red oak (Quercus rubra) leaves in June, Sauk City, Wis. On both sides of the
leaves, along the veins. Leaves becoming viscid from their secretions.
212 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
This is evidently distinct from the CaUipterus querent of Kaltenbach,
which is of a pale ocher color throughout and nearly smooth, and has
the veins of the wings unmargined. It approaches somewhat closely
to C. juglandii Fisch., which is found on walnut. In that species the
markings of the abdomen are almost exacth as in this, but the abdomen
is much more drawn out and tapering; it is more than probable, how-
ever, that the shrinkage caused by the alcohol has caused this to pre-
sent the blunt appearance. (Thomas.)
299. The "oak blight," or wooly Arms or the oak.
Schhoneura querei Fitch.
This species is found in the northern part of Illinois upon oak limbs.
Fitch says it is very similar to another species found on the bass wood.
The winged individuals are hlack throughout, slightly dusted over with an ash-
gray powder.
The tore wings are clear and transparent ; the stigma is dusky, the rib-veins black,
and the third discoidal vein with the basal portion abortive nearly or quite to the
fork. The length to the tip of the wings is (0.1G) a little over one-eighth of an inch.
(Thomas.)
300. CaUipterus (?) quercicola Thomas.
Winged form.— Antenna? about half as long as the body; not mounted on frontal
tubercles; remote at base: third, fourth, and fifth joints equal in length; transition
from the sixth to the seventh joint exceedingly gradual; seventh joint about half as
long as the preceding. Rostrum short, not reaching the second coxa? : apical join t very
acute. Nectaries reduced to mere openings. Style none. Wings with the veins bor-
dered with brown. Stigma rather short, and blunt at apex, the cubital vein arisiug
from its base. Stigmatal vein not so much curved as usual in this genus: not hyaline :
distance between the base of the cubitus and that of the stigmatal vein equa' to the
distance between the furcals, and less than the distance between the base of the
cubitus and that of the second discoidal. Second discoidal not sinuous. Body rather
elongate. Length, 1.77mm; to tip of wings, 2.79mm.
It is with considerable doubt that I place this species in the genus
CaUipterus. It is very probable that it should be placed under Asiph um :
but the only description of this genus which has been published is that
given by Koch, and, like the other generic descriptions which were
made from memory, after the loss of his eye-sight, is somewhat unsat-
isfactory. The following is a translation of the salient points in his
description :
A8iphum Koch. — Beak short. Antenua^ rather short: the tlird, fourth, and fifth
joints subequal ; the apical joint very small, scarcely perceptible.
Of this interesting species I have only seen two winged specimens,
mounted on a slide, which were communicated by a correspondent with
the information that they occurred at St. Louis, on oak. (Thomas.)
301. Chaitophorus quereicola Thomas.
Apterous individuals. — Dorsum greenish, with four rows of short tubercles, all of
which, except a few in the side rows, are black: their apical circumference with
from three to five bristles: the two middle rows of tubercles stop at the head,
THE OAK GALL-MITE. 213
but the two lateral rows are continued by smaller tubercles until near tbe base of
the labruni. Rostrum reaching the second coxae. Nectaries yellow, about as long
as the tarsi, slightly enlarged at base, the mouth conspicuously flaring. Style not
perceptible.
Winged individuals. — Antennae very slightly pilose ; fourth joint subequal to the
fifth and two-thirds as long as the third joint ; sixth about half as long as the pre-
ceding, and very little longer than the seventh wings, with the stigma and veins
much as in Ch. populicola, the veins lying in narrow dusky bands. Length of apter-
ous individuals 1.52-2.02 mm. ; length of wing 2.54 mm.
On the under side of the leaf near the midrib. Quercus prinus May to June,
Peoria, 111.
Of this interesting species I have seen a number of apterous indi-
viduals, but only a single winged specimen, which was mounted on a
slide, kindly communicated by Miss E. A. Smith, of Peoria, 111. The
dorsum of the winged individual is probably not tubercular, but this
cau not be decided with certainty on account of the manner in which
the specimen is mounted.
Though the antennae of this species are not sufficiently pilose to jus-
tify its being placed in Chaitopliorus, its general appearance seems to
point to this as its rightful position. (Thomas).
302. Chaitophorus spinosus Oestlund.
Mr. Oestlund has found this aphid on the under side of the leaves of
the oak, confining itself to the higher parts of the tree.
Wingless oviparous female. — Head subquadrate in outline, straight in front, pale red
or orange colored, with blackish spines in front and above like those on the abdo-
men. Antennae very remote at base, about one half the length of the body ; joints
1 and 2 as usual, 3 longest, 4 a little shorter, 5 a little shorter than 4, 6 hardly one-
half of 5, 7 not longer than 6 or shorter, basal joints pale, apical black, with long
white hairs as usual in this genus. Eyes large and round, with a distinct tubercle ;
the facets are reddish-brown, the space between them whitish, giving the eye the
appearance of a ripe raspberry just picked with the bloom still on ; no ocelli in this
form. Beak not more than reaching second coxae, stout and hairy, pale except at tip ;
second joint widest. Abdomen widest in the middle, tapering into a very long ovi_
positor behind, strongly convex above. Color pale yellow ; last segments sometimes
reddish as the head ; above with grass-green markings, generally in the shape of a
ring, leaving a large irregular white-like patch in the middle of the same color as
theabdomen. Honey-tubes short and thick. Style short and thick. Length2 to 3mn\
(Oestlund's Synopsis of the Aphididae of Minnesota).
303. Burr-oak gall mite.
Phytoptus querci Garman.
Class Arachnida ; order Acarina.
Produces galls on the leaves of the burr-oak, Quercus macrocarpa
Michx.
The mite is long and slender, and in a specimen seen among washings from a ceci-
dium, there appeared to be an abrupt descent in the outline of the back from the
abdomen to the cephalothorax. Length .005 inch.
214 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The gall is large, greenish-yrllow. entirely open In-low and slightly convex above.
The hollow is densely tilled with brown pubescence. The form is variable but the out-
line usually regular. The surface is smooth, or slightly roughened by the reinlete.
Some of these galls grow downward instead of upward and form brown velvety buttons
on the under side of the leaves. specimens measured were from .1 inch to .4 inch in
diameter. Thirty galls have been counted on one leaf. This is a common gall in
northern Illinois and Indiana, and has been found occasionally in central part of
Illinois. ^H. Garman in Forbes 1st Sep. Ius. Illinois.)
The following uotes have been supplied by Professor Riley:
Found August 9, 1878, on the upper side of the leaves of chestnut oak large irregu-
lar swellings which on the under side are entirely open and closely covered with
fine brownish hairs. Upon examination quite a number of white mites were observed
actively running about in these hairy depressions.
Some oak leaves were received from H. G. Hubbard. Crescent City, Fla., upon
which were the blister like gall of some mite. Some of these galls are round, while
others are irregularly oval, swelling on upper side of leaf — deeply depressed or con-
cave beneath the concavity filled with long pink-colored hairs. (Unpublished notes.)
304. Thk post oak locust.
Dendroteitix quercus. Riley MS.
The following account of this locust is taken bodily from Lawrence
Bruner's report on locusts in Texas during the spring of 1886, Bull,
^o. 13, Div. of Entomology, Dept. of Agr., 1887, p. 17-19:
In addition to the several species of locust that have been mentioned in the pre-
ceding pages, last summer for the first time another species of locust was noticed in
vast numbers among the post-oak timber lying between the towns of Washington
and Brenham, in Washington County. These were so numerous in one locality that
they completely defoliated the trees of the forest, even to the very topmost twigs. The
region occupied by this insect, although not over a mile and a half in width by 7 or
8 miles in length, is sufficiently large for the propagation of swarms capable of devas-
tating a much larger area during the present spring and summer, and by auother
year to spread over several of the adjoining counties.
Although there is at present no apparent injury to the trees thus defoliated last
year, and now in progress again this year, there can be no question as to the final
result if these attacks are continued for several years longer. The trees will event-
ually die. While up to the present time this locust has shown a decided arboreal
habit, it may, and undoubtedly will be, obliged to seek food in the adjoining fields
when compelled to do so through lack of its present diet, which is rapidly disappear-
ing before the hungry myriads of young locusts.
Notwithstanding the great numbers of the foregoing described species which
together have combined in injuring the cottou and corn crops throughout thifl and
adjoining counties, it is my opinion that the present species is more to be feared in
the future than they, on account of its arboreal nature aud the difficulty of getting
at it in order to destroy it. To kill these locusts either while feeding among the foliage
or " roosting'" upon the topmost boughs of the tall trees would be next to impossible.
Ou the other hand, the other species are easily to be gottou at and destroyed, as just
shown.
The habits of this locust, as nearly as I was able to learn through inquiry from
others, and by personal observation, are briedy as follows:
The egg-pods are deposited in the ground about the bases of trees or indifferently
scattered about the surface among the decaying leaves, etc.. like those of all other
ACORN-BORERS. 215
gronnd-laying species. The young commence hatching about the middle of March,
and continue to appear until into April. After molting the first time and becoming
a little hardened they immediately climb up the trunks of the trees and bushes of all
kinds and commence feeding upon the new and tender foliage. They molt at least
five or six times, if we may take the variation in size and difference in the develop-
ment of the rudiments of wings as a criterion. The imago or mature stage is reached
by the last of May or during the first part of June.
The species is very active and shy in all its stages of growth after leaving the egg.
The larva and pupa run up the trunks and along the limbs of trees with considerable
speed, and in this respect differ considerably from all other species of locusts with
which lam acquainted. I am informed that the mature insects are also equally wild
and fly like birds. They feed both by day and night ; and I am told by those who
have passed through the woods after night when all else was quiet, that the noise
produced by the grinding of their jaws was not unlike the greedy feeding of swine.
Aside from its arboreal nature there is but a single instance mentioned of its prefer-
ence for growing crops. This was a small field of either cotton or corn, or perhaps
both. If the nature of the crop was told me at the time I have forgotten. At any
rate the crop of one or the othei of these two staples grew in a small clearing in the
very midst of the most thickly visited area. The mature insects alone were the
offenders in this instance. During the day-time they would leave the trees in swarms
and alight upon the growing crop and feed until evening, when they would return to
the trees. If during the day they were disturbed, they immediately took wing and
left for the tops of the surrounding trees, to return shortly afterwards.
The exact classification of this locust has not yet been fully ascertained, since no
mature specimens were to be obtained, or, to my knowledge, are contained in any of
our American collections. The larvae and pupae collected, however, would indicate a
relationship to both the genera Melanoplus and Acridium. It appears to be congeneric
with an undescribed short- winged form, thus far only taken in Missouri, which lives
among and feeds upon the oaks only of that region. The present species is also
evidently undescribed, unless the mature insect should differ widely from the prepar-
atory stages herewith presented. It is popularly known in that region as the " Red-
legged hopper" of the post oaks.
The larvae and pupae are of rather bright color, giving them a gaudy appearance.
The ground color of the body is dark wood brown deepening into black along the
sides of the pronotum and the apex of the posterior femora. The head for the most
part is of a bright lemon yellow, while the pronotum is of the same, varied by streaks
and blotches of the brown. The antennae and posterior femora are red internally,
•dimly banded with yellow and brown on the external face, through which the red
color of the inner side can be plainly seen. The feet and tarsi are also dark. The
pupae average almost an inch in length and are rather robust in form, with short*
broad heads and powerful jaws.
INJURING THE SEED (ACORNS).
305. The acorn worm.
Balaninus rectus Say.
Order Coleoptera; family Curculionid.e.
The grub is like the chestnut borer, boring into the acorns and trans-
forming into a similar beetle, which is " easily distinguished fro'm B.
nasicus by the finer, more rectilinear rostrum, and it always differs
from B. nasicus in having no bands or vitta; the elytra being uniformly
216 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
spotted, as in tparsu* Schoen. This is the species I breed from acorns,
and I believe it also infests hazel nuts." (Itiley.)
Mr. F. Blanchard states that Dr. G. M. Le-
vette has bred this weevil from acorns gathered
in Bummer, and brought from Arizona. (Bull.
Brooklyn Ent. Boo., vii, 107.)
I;<( tic— First joint of antenna longer than second;
metasternnm of male with a small, rounded, condensed
patch of yellow scales each side of the median line.
Femoral tooth small, the enteringangle rounded.
906. Halaninus nasicus Sav.
Fu;. 69.— Acorn weevil. Balani
n«* rectus. — After liiley.
Professor Riley received from H. K. Morri-
son, Fort Grant, Ariz., July 26, 1882, a lot of
acorns of Q. grisea infested by larva? of the above insect, each contain-
ing apparently only one larva. The larva? left the acorns as soon as re-
ceived and entered the ground. They are yellow, head reddish brown,
mandibles dark brown. The beetles issued from April 28 to May 21,
1883. (Unpublished notes.)
307. The acokx moth.
Holcocera glandultUa Riley.
Order Lepidopteka ; family Tineid^e.
The larva occupies the deserted holes of the acorn weevil. The
imago is a narrow-winged moth which drops an egg in the hole, from
which hatches a slender grayish white or yellowish worm with 16 legs
and blue-black dorsal marks, with a light brown conical shield and
dusky anal plate.
Moth.— With silvery-gray fore wiugs, marked with dull reddish ; two distinct dark
discal spots ; a pale transverse stripe across the hasal third of wing, slightly hent
inwards at the middle; this stripe is well relieved behind by a dark shade, which
Fig. 70. — Acorn m >th (f.); o, b, acorns containing the
worm ; c. front end of the worm ; d and e, side and top
view of a segment. — After Riley.
generally extends from the bend to the costa above the discal spots, forming a more
K distinct triangular shade in the anterior middle portion of the wing. Hind
wings brownish gray. Expanse of wings, 0.50-0.80 inch. (Riley.)
LEPIDOPTERA OCCURRING ON THE OAK. 217
The following species of insects either habitually or occasionally oc-
cur on the oak.
LEPIDOPIERA.
Papilionidce.
308. Basilarchia astyanax (FabrJ.
309. Basilarchia arehippus (Cramer).
310. Papilio turnus Linn. Larva found on the oak in Maine, August 18.
See, also, Scudder, Can. Ent., i, 74.
311. Papilio glaucus Linn. (Scudder).
312. Thecla calanus (Hlibner). See hickory insects.
313. Thecla liparops. (Scudder).
314. Thecla strigosa Harris. (Coquillet in litt.), (Scudder).
315. Thanaos brizo Boisd. and Lee.
Sphingidce.
316. Smerinthus exececatus (Abb. and Sm.). Feeds on the oak (Riley's
unpublished notes). See elm and willow insects.
317. Daremma undulosa Walker. Occasionally feeds on the white and
red oak (Holland, Can. Ent., xviii, 102).
Sesiidce.
318. Sesia querci (H. Edwards). From galls of live oak, Arizona (H.
Edwards, Papilio, ii, 98).
319. Sesia hospes Walsh. Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., vi, 186S, 270. Red by
Walsh from a rough, black, woody polythalamous twig-gall oc-
curring sparingly on black and red oaks.
Hepialidw.
320. Hepialus argenteomaculatus Harris (Smith, Can. Ent. xx, 12, 233).
Bombycidm.
321. Callimorpha clymene Esper. (Riley, 3d Rt. Ins. Mo., 134. " Larva
found full grown on oak, though whether it fed on oak I did not
ascertain").
322. Spilosoma virginica (Fabr.), (Riley's notes). See butternut insects.
323. Hyphantria textor Harris. Abundant on the red oak. See elm
insects.
324. Ralesidota tessellaris (Hiibner.) (Riley's notes.)
325. Halesidota caryw Harris. (Beutenmiiller, Ent. Amer., vi, 16, 1890.)
326. Orgyia leucostigma. On oak runners and other oaks (Abbot and
Smith).
327. Orgyia inomata Beutenmiiller. See cypress insects.
328. Lithacodia fasciola (Clem.). Found on the oak by Mr. Elliott.
See maple insects.
329. Thyridopteryx ephemerwformis (Haworth). On oaks, willows, etc.,
Florida (Ashmead, Can. Ent., xviii, 97). See cedar insects.
218 111 HI REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
330. Datana angusii Ot. and R. Occasionally feeds on the oak (Elliott).
Bee hickory insects.
331. Datana ministra (Drury). Feeds on the oak (Riley, notes; also,
liciitenniiiller, Can. Ent., xx, 17). See hickory insects.
332. Schizura unicornis (Abbot and Smith), (Riley). See elm insects.
333. (Edematia conrinna (Abbot and Smith), (Riley). See hickory in-
sects.
334. Hcterocampa (Cecrita) guttiritta Walk. On white oak, Providence,
October 9. (Plate vi, tig. 1, la, lb.)
335. Platjfsamia oeoropia (Linn.). Fwds on the white oak (W.Brodie).
See maple insects.
336. Fades imperial is Dubuer. Feeds on white, red, scarlet, burr, and
pin oak (Beutenmuller). See pine insects.
337. Hyperchiria io (Fabr.). (L. W. Goodell, Can. Ent. ix, 180.)
Noctuidce.
338. Apatela americana Harris (Coquillett, Papilio, i, 6). See maple in-
sects. Also, Thaxter, Papilio, iii, 17.
339. Apatela luteicoma (Thaxter, Papilio, iii, 16).
340. Apatela hamamelis (Thaxter, Papilio, iii, 17; nodescr.).
341. Apatela lobelia: Gnen. (Coquillett, in letter.)
342. Scolecocampa liburna Geyer. (Coquillett, in letter.)
343. Catocala grynea Cramer. (Coquillett, in letter.)
344. Ingura sp. indet. Most nearly resembling I. delineata (Riley in
letter). Found in April on the live oak at St. Augustine, Fla.
Pyralida\
345. Zanclognatha minivalis Grt. Found July 23, 1882, in Virginia,
several larvae of a noctuid feeding on dead leaves of oak and
maple. They commenced changing to pupae July 26, and the
moths issued from August 4-16, 1882. (Riley's unpublished
notes.)
346. Palthis asopialis Guen. Found in Virginia, July 23, 1882, three
larvae of this Deltoid, feeding on dead leaves of oak. One larva
spun up July 26 and the moth issued August 7, 1882. (Riley's
unpublished notes.)
347. Dakruma })allida Comstock.
348. Homoptera lunata (Drury). (Lintner, Rep. iv, 58.)
Phahvnid(v.
349. Hibemia tiliaria Harris. (Coquillett in letter.)
Tortricida\
350. Tortrix rosaceana Harr. Feeds on the leaves of apple, pear, and
oak ; also on black locust. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
351. Caccecia grisea (Robinson). White oak (Miss Murtfeldt).
LEAF-MINERS OF THE OAK. 219
352. Pandemis limitata (Rob.). Oak, sassafras (Miss Murtfeldt).
353. Tortrix albicomana (Clein.). Oak (Miss Murtfeldt).
354. Eccopsis inornatana (Clem.). Leaves of white oak (Fernald).
355. Lophoderus mariana (Fern.). Oak ! (Fernald).
356. Tmetocera ocellana (Scniff.). Laurel oak (Miss Murtfeldt).
357. Melliopus latiferreana (Walsingham). Bred from acorns; either
a genuine acorn-borer or inquilinous. (Riley, Trans. St. Louis
Acad, iv, 322.)
Tineidce.
358. Psilocorsis quercicella Clemen's Tineidae. Binds together the leaves.
359. Blastobasis coccivorella Chambers.
360. Lithocolletis cratcegella. Oak -leaf roller ; issued in April. (Riley's
note-book vii, 358.)
The following species are said by Clemens and by Chambers to live
on the leaves of various species of oak.
Leaf-miners of the upper surface.
361. Lithocolletis cincinnatiella Chamb. Yellowish blotch mine.
362. Lithocolletis tubiferella Clem. ) Mines so as to form somewhat like
363. Lithocolletis bifdsciella Chamb. J the track made by a drop of water.
364. Lithocolletis bicolorella Chamb. Yellowish blotch mine like that
of L. ulmella in elm.
365. Lithocolletis unifasciella Chamb. ) * ? « ,, *., / „
oon 7- -.7 77 j.- 7 .1 77 ™ i f mines, smaller than that of
366. Lithocolletis bethuneella Chamb. > . . . „ , ,,
oar? T-J.I. 77 4.- i 77 ™. r. v cincinnatiella. and usually
367. Lithocolletis castaneceella Chamb- > , , . \ '
J in red or black oaks.
368. Tischeria zelleriella Clem.
369. Tischeria pruinoseella Chamb.
370. Tischeria castanewella Chamb.
371. Tischeria badiiella Chamb. Bred from the oak. (Riley's unpub-
lished notes.)
372. Tischeria qaercivorella Chamb.
373. Tischeria quercitella Clem.
374. Tischeria citrinipennella Clem.
375. Tischeria complanoides Frey & Boll. (Doubtful species.)
376. Tischeria concolor Zeller. (Food plant uucertain.)
377. Tischeria tinctoriella Chamb.
378. Nepticula platea Clem. ) Imago unknown. Larvae of both in
379. Nepticula anguinella. y crooked, linear mines.
380. Nepticula quercipulchella Chamb. \
381. Nepticula quercicastanella Chamb. > Larvae in crooked, linear mines.
382. Nepticula saginella Clem. )
383. Coriscium sp. Imago unknowu.
220 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
384. Ooleophora querciella Clem. Imago unknown. Larva lives in a
case, which it attaches to the leaves.
385. Ooleophora diecoetriata Walsingham, California.
38G. Catastega timidella Clem. Imago unknown.
387. Gelechia rubensella Chambers. Feeds externally on the leaves.
^Chambers in letter.)
Leaf-miners of the under surface.
388. Lithocolletis quercitorum Frey & Boll. ]
389. Lithocolletis fitchella Clem.
390. Lithocolletis basistrigella Clem.
391. Lithocolletis ariferella Clem.
392. Lithocolletis quercipulchella Chamb.
393. Lithocolletis quercialbella Chamb. Tentiform mines.
394. Lithocolletis fuscocostella Chamb.
395. Lithocolletis albanotella Chamb.
390. Lithocolletis obstrictella Clem.
397. Lithocolletis hageni Frey & Boll.
398. Lithocolletis argentifimbriella Clem. 3
399. Lithocolletis intermedia Frey & Boll. Doubtful species.
400. Lithocolletis mirifica Frey & Boll. Doubtful species.
401. Ornix quercifoUella Chamb. Under edge of leaf turned down.
402. Coriscium albanotella Chamb. Large tentiform mine.
The following species either roll, fold, or sew the leaves together :
403. Ypsolophus querciella Chamb.
404. Gelechia querciella Chamb.
405. Gelechia quercinigrceella Chamb.
406. Gelechia quercivorella ^hamb.
407. Gelechia quercifoUella Chamb.
408. Cryptolechia quercicella Clem.
409. Machimia tentoriferella Clem. Larva in a web.
The following species feed in galls :
410. Gelechia gaUwgenitella Clem.
411. Ypsolophus quercipomonella Chamb.
412. Hamadryas bassettella Clem.
COLEOPTERA.
V
413. Artipus floridanus Horn. Found commonly at Haulover Canal,
Florida, feeding on leaves of oak and juniper. (Schwarz, Proc.
Eut, Soc, Wash., i, 169.)
414. Balaninus quercus Horu. For an account, by J. Hamilton, of the
habits, with description of the species, see Canadian Entomolo-
gist, Jan., 1890, 1-8.
415. Balaninus nasicus Say. (Ibid.)
416. Balaninus uniformis Lee. (Ibid.)
BEETLES FEEDING ON THE OAK. 221
417. Hypothenemus dissimilis Zimm. Boring, with the succeeding spe-
cies, which may be the other sex, in oak twigs. (J. B. Smith,
Ent., Ainer., March, 1890, 54.)
418. Hypothenemus erectus Lee.
419. Dicerca asperata Lap. and Gory. (Chittenden, Ent. Amer., v, 218.)
420. Prionus \1) sp. Received January 20, 1881, from H. H. Rusby,
a coleopterous larva found boring in a stick of oak at Silver
City, N. Mex. The larva is evidently that of a species of Prionus.
(Riley's unpublished notes.)
421. Prionus californicus (?). Received January 14, 1881, from Mrs. A-
E. Bush, San Jose, Cal., the larva of some Longicorn found in
" white oak," which in all probability is that of the above in-
sect. Two others were received from the same person and locality
in April. Not bred. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
422. Pityophthorus minutissimus Zimm. February 7, 1882. This insect
was found at this date in large numbers, both in the imago and
larva state, under the bark of a dry piece of oak wood. Their
mines, as a rule, run parallel with the wood ; rarely transversely.
(Riley's unpublished notes.)
423. Lachnostema quercina Knoch. Beetle devours the leaves of vari-
ous trees at night. This beetle entirely denuded the pin and post
oaks on W. C. Flagg's place at Alton, this year. (Riley's unpub-
lished notes.)
424. Fidia sp. June 25, found many Fidia beetles on oak and hickory
eating large holes in their leaves, (liiley's unpublished notes.)
425. Cryptocephalus notata, Fabr. Feeding on oak, sassafras and elm.
(Riley's unpublished notes.)
426. Coscinoptera dominicana Fabr. June 11, 1873, Riley records the
beetles as found in copulation on young oak. The larva feeds,
however, on dry leaves, and he has published a full account of
the species. (6th Rep. Ins., Mo., pp. 127-132.)
427. Centronopus calcaratus Fabr. " Inhabits black oak stumps. It
remains in pupa two weeks." (Horn.)
428. Centronopus anthracinus Knoch. May be taken in company with
the preceding species. (Horn.)
429. Acanthoderes ±-gibbus Say. Bores in dead twigs of oak. (Si hwarz.)
430. Trag idion fulvipenne Say. Bores in oak. (Riley.) The mode of
egg-laying is described by Popenoe in Insect Life, ii, 192.
431. Arhopalus fulminans Fabr. Red oak. (Fitch & Hadge, also
Riley.*) See chestnut insects.
432. Ataxia crypta Say. Found by myself under the bark of the oak
at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Identified by Dr. Horn.)
* Numerous larvae of this insect were found January 10, 1882, Washington,!). C,
boring in dry red-oak wood. All the younger larvae were working under the bark,
the fully grown specimens, however, gnawed a channel into the solid wood for the
purpose of pupation. By the 7th of February pupae were found ; the beetles com-
menced issuing the 13th of March. (Unpublished notes.)
222 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
433. Ayrilus bilintatus Say. At Providence, May 30, I found the pupae
under the bark of an oak trunk; the beetles were common on
the leaves. Professor Riley found three pupa:1 in the bark of an
oak stump. One of them transformed to the beetle May 18, and
the second one May "»1.
434. Onriderm cmgutahu Say. Bores in the oak. (Hubbard.) See
hickory iusects.
Xcoptochus adsper.sus Boh. This weevil feeds on oak. (Riley.
Amer. Nat., November, 1882, 916.)
43G. Pachmvus distant Horn. Feeds on oak and pine. (Riley, Amer.
Nat.. November, 188% 910.)
437. Systena Manila Melsh. Liutuer's Fourth Report, 155.
ORTHOPTERA.
438. Phaneroptera curvicauda. Very common on the oak. (Riley's un-
published notes.)
439. Diapkeromera femorata Say. See hickory insects. (Riley, Ann.
Rept. Eutom. Dept. Agric, 1879, pp. 241-245.)
440. (Ecanth us sp. Larva on oak at St. Louis, July 1; pupated July
29. (Riley's unpublished notes.)
HEMIPTERA.
441. Lachnu.s quercifol'uv Fitch.
44L\ Callipterus hyalinus Monell. On Quercus imbricaria.
Note. — Of undetermined species of insects living at the expense of
the oaks, I have notes on 40 species of lepidopterous larvae, whose trans-
formations have not yet been worked out, and on 3 species of saw-fly
larvae, in addition to those mentioned in the previous pages.
Professor Riley also has reference to or notes on 40 species, viz : 10
species of Bombycidie, 10 of Noctuidae, 6 of Geoiuetrida.j, 2 Pyralida*. 1
Tortricidie, 7 Tineidae, aud 4 species of undetermined families; also 4
species of saw-fly larva?, 10 species of Hemiptera, with notes of 140
undetermined species of Cynipidae (some of which may already have
been enumerated), carryiug the number of species of oak insects
known up to the end of 1889 to between 500 and 600 species.
BEETLES LIVING IN ROTTEN WOOD, STUMPS, GALLS, ETC., NOT KNOWN
TO BE INJURIOUS.
Si/nchroa punctata Newman. "They live in rotten oak stumps, thriv-
ing best in the white. The pupa requires about one week to
perfect itself." (Horn.) The beetle is brown, sparsely covered
with gray hairs; regularly punctured over the body, the punctures
of medium size, distinct, not coufluent, length, .5 inch ; breadth,
.1 inch. (Newman.)
Ozognathus oomuhu Lee Lives in oak galls. (Riley, notes.)
INSECTS LIVING IN ROTTEN OAK WOOD. 223
Dendroides canadensis Latr. Under bark of stumps and felled trees.
(Riley, also Chittenden.)
Cucujus clavipes Fabr. Under bark of stumps and felled trees.
Strongylium terminatum Say. Larvae of this insect were found Jan-
uary 12, 1882, at Washington, D. C, feeding in rotten oak
wood. The full grown larva measures about 1 inch in length.
They are polished, yellowish white, and cylindrical, the two last
segments brownish yellow. Tip of last segment truncate, with
two black, upward curved horns. There is also on the dorsum
of this segment a blackish transverse ridge divided at the middle,
and each half beset with live or six short, sharp teeth. The
beetle issued the 12th of June. (Riley's unpublished notes; see
also, Schwarz, Amer. Nat, October, 1882, 823.)
Mordella ^-punctata Fabr. Larva found in old oak stumps. Color:
Head yellowish white with three distinct yellowish lines above.
Legs short. Tail pointed, horny and blackish brown. (Riley's
unpublished notes.)
Hymenorus communis Lee. Found in Maryland, February 22, 1884,
numbers of larvae of above beetle boring in a rotten oak stump,
the largest of which measured about llmm in length. They are
highly polished and pale yellow, the head and posterior margin
of the thoracic and first three abdominal segments somewhat
darker. A large squarish spot on the eighth and the greater ante
rior part of the last segment quite dark yellow ; labrum brown ;
tip of body rounded. The first beetle issued May 1. (Riley's
unpublished notes.)
Pelidnota punctata Linn. Lamellicorn larva in rotten oak stump.
Riley has published a full account (3rd Rep. Ins., Mo., p. 319).
Dinoderus punctatus (Say). Boring in an oak stump ; abundant; ap-
pears to be parasitized. (F. L. Chittenden in letter).
Parandra brunnea Fabr. Under bark. (Chittenden.)
Ceruchus piceus (Weber). In decaying oak wood. (Chittenden.)
Nyctobates pensylvanicus (De Geer). Under bark. (Chittenden.)
Hypulus simulator (Newman). In decaying wood. (Chittenden.)
Osmoderma scabra Beau v. In decaying oak wood. (Beutenmiiller,
Psyche v, 281, 1880.)
Osmoderma eremicola Knoch. (Coquillett in letter.)
AtJwus cucullatits Say. (Coquillett in letter.)
Androchirus fascipes Mels. (Coquillett in letter.)
Elater nigricollis Herbst. (Coquillett in letter.)
Lyctus striatus Melsh.
Trogoxylon paralleopipedum (Melsh.) The two latter species probably
bore in dry oak wood, injuring furniture, etc. (Riley, Scientific
American, Dec. 21, 1889.)
Chapter II,
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE ELM.
No shade tree is held in higher estimation than the elm. It is the
pride of New England and New York towns and villages, as well as
those of the northern, central, and middle Atlantic States. Kaltenbach
enumerates 107 species of insects which in Germany live at the expeuse
of the elm, while in this country we have about 80 species, the elm not
occurring in the Rocky Mountains or on the Pacific coast.
The species which are the most abundant and persistent in their at-
tacks are the common elm-tree borer, the canker-worm, and a plant-
louse which disfigures the leaves by crumpling and discoloring them.
AFFECTING THE TRUNK.
1. The common elm-tkee borek.
Saperda tridentata Olivier.
Order Coleoptera ; Family Cerambycid-E.
Perforating and loosening the bark and furrowing the surface of the wood with
their irregular tracks, flat white longicorn borers, changing to beetles in June aud
July ; the beetles flat, dark brown, with a longitudinal three-toothed red stripe on
the outer edge of each wing-cover.
This is the most destructive borer of the elm in the Northern and
Eastern States, often killing the trees by the wholesale. Great num-
bers of the larvae of different sizes have been found boring in the inner
bark and also furrowing with their irregular tracks the surface of the
wood, the latter being, as it were, tattoed with sinuous grooves, and
the tree completely girdled by them in some places. The elms on
Boston Common have in former years been killed by this borer, and
valuable trees, we have been informed, have been killed by them in
Morristown, N. J. It has been found in all stages in the elm at Detroit,
Mich., by Mr. H. G. Hubbard.
Fitch remarks that it consumes the inner bark of the slippery elm
{ Ulmus fulva), especially in dead and decaying trees. According to
him, "the beetle deposits its eggs upon the bark in June, and the young
larva1 therefrom nearly complete their growth before winter, and soon
after warm weather arrives the following spring they pass into their
pupa state." We have found the larva1 in abundance in the early
spring in Providence in old dead elms.
224
THE COMMON ELM-BORER. 225
More recently the ravages of this borer have been observed by Pro-
fessor Forbes, whose notes we copy from his third report on the injuri-
ous insects of Illinois.
For several years past my attention has been attracted by the gradual decay and
death of the rows of white elms ( Ulmus americana) in the towns of Normal, Bloom-
ington, and Champaign. The difficulty with the trees commonly commences to de-
clare itself from the middle of summer to autumn, when the leaves, tirst upon the
terminal twigs and then upon the larger branches, are seen to stop their growth,
change their color, and ultimately to fall. This loss is. naturally followed speedily
by the death of the branches themselves, as is clearly evident the following spriDg,
when these remain black and lifeless while the rest of the tree is putting on its fol-
iage. Usually the higher branches of the tree are those first affected, but the whole
top soon seems to blight, and in a year or two the tree perishes utterly. This diffi-
culty, commencing here and there, extends slowly from tree to tree along the rows,
finally inevitably destroying every tree of this species in the immediate vicinity.
In autumn of 1883, 1 directed an assistant, Mr. Webster, to dig up a tree which had
nearly died in this manner during the summer, and to carefully examine the larger
roots, the trunk, and all the branches, with a view to ascertaining, if practicable,
the cause of the difficulty. The roots were found unaffected, but on peeling the bark
from the trunk, about half-grown larvae of Saperda tridentata appeared in consider-
able numbers in the still living parts of the wood, and those of Afagdalis armicollis
were abundant where the bark and wood were already dead. The manner in which
the bark had been mined and burrowed by the Saperdas gave sufficient evidence of
the cause of the death of the tree, the borers having again and again completely
girdled the trunk.
Both the trunk and branches of this tree were cut up in lengths and boxed for the
purpose of determining the details of the life history of the species. The specimens
were boxed August 8, the cracks of the boxes being closed by pasting over them strips
of paper, and each having left a glass- covered opening in the top, to which it was
assumed that the insects emerging would be attracted. Later, this cover was re-
moved, and a glass jar was inverted over the opening.
Nothing emerged until the following spring, except a single parasite taken Septem-
ber 14. On the 9th of April, living larvae of Saperda were found still within the
wood, but no images had appeared in the boxes, neither were any pupae discovered.
On the 17th of that mouth, both larvae and pupae were detected, and on the 2d of
May the first imagos appeared, three in number. On the 3d another imago emerged,
on the 5th five more, and on the 7th eighteen, on the 8th eleven, and on the 12th
twenty-three, this being the largest number taken from the boxes at once. Beetles
continued, however, to emerge at frequent intervals until the 22d of June, at which
time the last appeared, one hundred and eighteen in all having been taken alive.
On the 15th of September the boxes were opened finally, thoroughly searched, and
fifty-three more dead Saperdas were found. The boxes in which these specimens
transformed had been kept under cover, but at the natural temperature of the air.
Although the elm borer has evidently been for several years both numerous and in-
creasing in the neighborhood where this tree was destroyed, the amount of parasitism
developed by the experiments was quite insignificant, only eight parasitic insects,
belonging to three species, appearing in the boxes as against the one hundred and
seventy-one examples of the adult borer ; and indeed, as the same pieces of wood con-
tained a great host of the larvae of Afagdalis armicollis, from which multitudes of
imagos of this species emerged during this spring, it is impossible to say that some or
most of this small number of parasites may not have escaped from the latter species.
From the present appearance of the elms throughout the towns of Central Illinois
where I have had an opportunity to examine their condition, and from the rapid
progress which this pest has made among them during the last two or three years, it
extremely likely that it will totally exterminate the trees unless it be promptly
5 ENT 15
226 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
arrested by general action. The ouly remedy available is unquestionably the de-
struction of effected trees in autumn and winter before the beetles have a chance to
emerge from the trunks. In towns this measure should usually be taken by the au-
thorities, since individual action could not be depended on to more than paUiate the
difficulty. It every elm which is in the unhealthy condition above described, and
which, upon examination, is found to harbor these borers beneath the bark, were cut
down in autumn and burned before spring, the multiplication of the borer might be
effectually checked ; but if the destruction of the trees be postponed until as late as
May. a part of all of the beetles maturing each year would escape to carry the mis-
chief elsewhere. (Forbes).*
The larva. — White, subcyliudrical, a little flattened, with the lateral fold of the
body rather prominent; end of the body flattened, obtuse, and nearly as wide at the
end as at the first abdominal ring. The head is one-
half as wide as the prothoracic ring, being rather
large. The prothoracic segment, or that next to the
head, is transversely oblong, being about twice as
broad as long; there is a pale dorsal corneous trans-
versely oblong shield, being about two-thirds as long
as wide, and nearly as long as the four succeeding
segments; this plate is smooth, except on the pos-
terior half, which is rough, with the front edge irregu-
lar, and not extending far down the sides. Fine
hairs arise from the front edge and side of the plate,
and similar hairs are scattered over the body and
especially around the end. On the upper side of each
segment is a transversely oblong ovate roughened
area, with the front edge slightly convex, and behind slightly arcuate. On the
under side of each segment are similar rough horny plates, but arcuate in front, with
the hinder edge straight.
It differs from the larva of Saperda vestita Say in the shorter body, which is broader,
more hairy, with the tip of the abdomen flatter and more hairy. The prothoracic
segment is broader and flatter, and the rough portion of the dorsal plates is larger
and less transversely ovate. The structure of the head shows that its generic dis-
tinctness from Saperda, originally insisted on by Mnlsant, may be well founded, as
the head is smaller and flatter, the clypeus being twice as large, and the labrum broad
and short, while in Saperda vestita it is longer than broad. The mandibles are much
longer and slenderer, aud the antenna; are much smaller than in Saperda vestita.
Beetle.— A rather flat-bodied, dark-brown beetle, with a rusty-red curved line be-
hind the eyes, two stripes on the thorax, and with a long red stripe on the outer
edge of each wing-cover, with three long points projecting inwards; 0.50 inch m
length.
2. The red-edged saperda.
Fig. 71. Larva (from life) and adult
of the elm-tree borer.— Fro m
Packard.
Saperda lateralis Fabricius.
Order Colboptera; family Cerambycid.e.
Mining the inner bark of dead trees and logs of the common elm, a grub very sim-
ilar to the foregoing, and about the 1st of June producing a similar beetle, but differ-
ing in wanting the transverse teeth or points arising from the marginal stripe on the
wing-covers. (Fitch.)
3. Saperda vestita.
Fouuil oil the elm. This borer is destroyed by the larva of Bracon
(■harm Riley, a specimen of which was taken from a larva found on the
above-named tree. (Riley's unpublished notes.) See linden insects.
ELM BORERS.
227
4. The six-eanded dryobius.
Dryobius sex-fasciatus Say.
Order Coleoptera; family Cerambycid^e.
A similar but larger grub thau that of Saperda tridentata, but found with it, pro-
ducing a black beetle of nearly similar form, with the edge of the thorax yellow, and
also its scutel, with four yellow equidistant oblique bands on its wing-covers, the
last one situated at the tip. Length 0.70 inch. (Fitch.) It also occurs on the
beech, according to C. G. Siewers.
5. The dark elm bark-borer.
Hylesinus opaculw Leconte.
Order Coleoptera ; family Scolytid^e.
Making small perforations like pinholes, appearing in the bark, especially of dis-
eased elms, from which, in August and September, issues a minute cylindrical bark-
beetle of a dark-brown color; its wing-covers with deeply impressed punctured fur-
rows and short hairs ; its thorax also punctured. Length 0.10 or less. (Harris.)
We have not observed this bark-borer, but Mr. Wm. L. Devereaux,
of Clyde, N. Y., writes as follows regarding the true name of the beetle :
I think Harris mistaken about the occurrence of P. Hmivaris on elm. It must have
been H.opaculus ; at least I never have found Uminaris under or on the bark.*
This is a stout pitchy-black timber-beetle, living under the dry bark
of the elm and ash trees. (Eiley.)
The dark elui bark-boier. — After Eilej-.
The beetle. — Stout, opaque, when mature of a uniform piceous-black color. Head
punctulate, not narrow in front, without transverse impressions in front of the eyes.
Epistoma (Fig. 72b) truncate or very slightly and broadly emarginate. Labrum
visible. Antennal club very large, oblong-oval, the first two joints shining and
pubescent only at apex. Thorax wider than long, very densely punctate ; pubes-
cence moderately thick and short. Elytral striae (Fig 72d) evidently impressed and
regularly, coarsely punctate ; "interstices very distinct, each with a regular cow of
small tubercles, which become more acute toward the apex and the sides. Pubescence
very coarse and short. Tibise (Fig. 72e) hardly dentate. (Riley's Rep. Ent. Dep.
Ag. 1879, p. 45. The other figures illustrate H. trifolii.)
* See also Mr. Schwarz's note in Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., i, 149.
228 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
<>. TlIK SHOUT-LINKD DULAHllS.
DulaHut breriliiitu* Say.
Order Colbopteba; family C'kuambycidjs.
Fig. 73.— Dularius breviU7ieu$.—From Packard.
Boring in partly dead or dry elms, the larva of a pretty longicom, with deep pur-
plish-blue wing-covers bearing three short white lines in the middle.
This beetle was first bred from the dry wood of the elm by Eiley, the
larvae occurring in Ohio; the beetle appearing in May and June. It
was also known, by the late Mr. G. D. Smith, to inhabit this tree,
probably in the vicinity of Boston; it was noticed in our second Massa-
chusetts Report, page 18. Mr. George Hunt has observed this beetle
on the bark of an elm at Plymouth, N. H., in the middle of July, insert-
ing its eggs in the crevices of the bark.
The beetle. — It is a singular-looking beetle, with a round, flattened prothorax, and
wing-covers contracted in the middle, and not covering the tip of the abdomen, while
the thighs are unusually swollen. The antenna' are about two-thirds the length of
the body, flattened towards the end, and somewhat serrate. The body above is
velvety black, and brown-black beneath. The head is black and coarsely punctured,
and the prothorax is covered with short, dense, black hairs, like velvet. The wing-
covers are Prussian blue in color, bent, corrugated, with an interrupted ridge just
outside of the middle of each cover. They are covered with tine black hairs, bent
over. There is a pair of parallel, short honey-yellow lines in the middle of each
wing-cover, with a third one a little in front, making iu all six streaks. The legs
aud feet are black. It is a little over eight-tenths of an inch in length.
7. Neoclytus erythrocephahts Fabricius.
Order Coleoptera; family Cerambycid.e.
This insect was found in company with Magdalis armicollis under the
bark of a dead elm at Detroit, Mich., by H. G. Hubbard ; aud also has
been raised from hickory- wood by Dr. Horn.
ELM-BORERS. 229
8. Neoclytus caprcece Say.
This insect was found in all stages in the fall of 1875 in felled
trunks of elm and hickory by George Waite, of Emporia, Kans. ( Riley's
MS. notes.)
9. Magdalis armicollis Say.
Order Coleoptera ; family Curculiontdje.
According to LeBaron (Fourth Rep. Ins. Illinois, 139) this weevil,
which is allied to the Magdalinus of the oak (Fig. 29), inhabits the elm,
living under the bark. Mr. H. G. Hubbard has also found it boring in
the elm, and has bred from the larvae four species of parasites. (Psyche
ii, 40.)
The burrows were about an inch and a half long, running generally
with the grain, and in the cambium layer throughout their entire
length. From the cell at the end an exit pierced the bark as far as the
thin outer layer. The beetles usually attacked the upper branches, but
several small elms were found with the bark of the trunk undermined
nearly to the ground. Occasional specimens were found associated
with Saperda tridentata and Synchroa punctata in the thick bark of full-
grown trunks. Of the three parasites the more common one was a
Chalcid, probably belonging to the genus Storthygacerus of Ratzburg,
which preys upon the larvae of Magdalinus, completing its transforma-
tions in advance of the beetle.
The beetle. — Body reddish, punctured; head punctured, an obsolete impression be-
tween the eyes ; a dilated, impressed, abbreviated line over the insertion of the
antennae, sometimes obsolete or wanting ; thorax with much dilated confluent
punctures ; a polished longitudinal line near the middle ; anterior angles with small,
erect spines, of which the anterior one is largest ; posterior angles slightly excurved,
anterior and lateral margins dull rufous ; elytra light rufous, profoundly striated ;
striae with approximate punctures ; thighs, with a robust spine beneath, near the
tips. Length from the eyes to tip of the wing-covers one-fifth of an inch. Var.
a. Thorax and beneath, excepting the feet, black. (Say.)
10. Buprestis (Anthaxia) viridicornis Say.
Order Coleoptera; family Bupresteele.
This buprestid is reported by Mr. H. G. Hub
bard as infesting the elm. (Psyche, ii, 40.)
The beetle. — Head and thorax coppery red ; antennae
green; eyes rather large; thorax transversely indented _
each side behind the middle ; reddish coppery, surface
reticulated ; posterior edge rectilinear ; scutel triangu-
lar; wing-covers obscure or slightly brassy, slightly ru-
gose, destitute of striae, rounded at tip, entire or obso-
letely serrated ; beneath dark, brassy, brilliant ; tail
rounded, entire. Length rather more than one-fifth of Fte.74.~- Anthaxia viridicornis
an inch. (Say.) Smith and Marx del.
11. Synchroa punctata Newman.
Order Coleoptera; family Melaxdryid^e.
This insect has been found "exceedingly abundant" by Mr. H. G.
Hubbard in the bark of the elm. (Psyche, ii, 40.)
230 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
The beetle.— The form is elongate, like an Elaterid of the genu.s Melanotic, coars.lv
ponotared and pabesoeot; kbe h<-a<l is prominent and horizontal; the maxillary
palpi are moderate in length and hut slightly dilated ; the antenna- are long, slender,
and feebly serrate, and the third joint is not longer than the fourth; the anterior
ooxte are oval and separated by the presternum, which is also slightly prolonged ;
the middle ooxa are equally separated ; the hind coxae are less distant ; the tarsi are
filiform and the claws simple; the tibial spurs are long. (Leconte.) It is brown, and
five tenths of an inch in length.
12. THK T1JKK-CK1CKKI.
(Eeanlkm niveau Serville.
Order ORTHOPTBBA ; family Gryllid.i .
Boring into the corky bark of the elm in the Southern States, inserting it-
irregularly, not in regular series as when it oviposits in the stems of the blackberry,
raspberry, grape, etc. ; a slender pale-grei n cricket, with white wings and a large
ovipositor; the males shrilling loudly.
The eggs of the tree-cricket begin to develop as soon as they are laid
in the early autumn, and the embryo partially (level <>]>s. go that the
rudimentary limbs may
be seen, as well as the
mouthparts; the insect
completes its develop
meut in the early part of
the following summer, appearin
Fig. 76. Female tree-cricket* natural
size. — After Hart is.
early in August.
Fig. 75. Male t r e e -
cricket.- Afternoo-
ns.
AFFECTING THE LEAVES.
13. The spring canker worm.
Paleacrita vernata (Peck).
Order Lepidoptera; family Phajuenid^e.
Very injurious to the elm in the Eastern States, stripping the trees ; a dark-striped
measuring worm varying in color to pale green, transformiug from the middle to the
last of June in the earth to a pupa, some appearing in the autumn, hut most abun-
dantly in March; the female grub-like, the male winged.
Originally confined, as an injurious insect, to Xew England, it is now
destructive in the Western States (Illinois and Missouri) and must
originally have occurred all over the United States east of the Missis-
sippi, as I have received it from Texas.
* Am
Fig. 77. Spring Canker worm; b, Fie. 7& a. female Spring canker-worm moth; b.
eggs; e, aide; d, back of a aeg- male; e, antenna) joints of female ;dr one of female
merit. — After Riley. abdominal segments; e, ovipositor.— After Riley.
About the 1st of May, at the time when the leaves of the apple are
unfolding, the young canker worms break through the eggs, which have
THE SPRING CANKER-WORM. 231
been laid earlier in the season, in March and April, in patches on the
hark of the trunk aud limbs. They may be soon found clustering on
the terminal buds aud partly unfolded leaves, and are then about a line
in length, and not much thicker than a bit of thick thread. Fortuuarely,
owing to the want of wings, the female is exceedingly sedentary, aud
year after year the apple and elm trees of particular orchards and towns
are defoliated and turned brown, while adjoining orchards and towns
scarcely suffer. By the 20th of June, in Essex County, Mass., the
orchards or shade elms infested by them look as if a fire had run
through them. At that date the worms are fully fed, and they then
descend to the ground, letting themselves down by a silken thread. At
this time I have destroyed thousands by jarring the tree and collecting
those which fall down. I have watched old and young robins busily
engaged in eating them, and from the number of toads in my garden,
gathered under the trees, I feel confident that they eat multitudes of
them.
The worms at once enter the ground, change to chrysalids several
inches below the surface, near the trunk of the tree, and there remain
until the early days of March and April, when the wingless females as-
cend the trees, and the winged males may be seen fluttering about.
I took pains one spring, in the middle of April, to count the number
of these moths on my apple trees, fourteen in number, averaging from
six to seven inches in thickness, besides three elms. They were more
abundant on the apple trees than on the elms. But on those seventeen
trees there were counted, adhering mostly to the tarred paper, one thou-
sand males and two hundred females. The spring of 1875 was cold and
backward and few moths were seen before this date. From these data
we can ascertain approximately the relative numerical proportions be-
tween the sexes, which seems to approximate five males to one female.
The species I have referred to is the spring moth, the Paleacrita ver-
nata of Peck, but not of Harris. A. pometaria is much less abundant
in the adult condition, aud only appears in the autumn. The wings are
thicker than those of vernata, aud the caterpillar has an additional pair
of prop-legs, though so short as to be useless. I find that most of the
damage is done by the caterpillars of vernata. On June 15, 1875, I
collected five hundred and fifty-seven caterpillars from the apple trees
in my garden. Of these, five hundred aud twenty were vernata, and
twenty-seven were the young of the autumn species. Peck, in his ac-
count published in 1795, states that vernata does the principal damage.*
Remedies. — The use of printer's ink laid on tarred paper is the cheap-
est, though the ink should be applied every day or two. The use of tin
troughs of oil surrounding the tree is almost sure to stop the ascent of
the females, while wooden troughs of oil built around the bottom of the
*It is probably this species which I have found feeding on the leaves May 30 and
June 1, at Providence. It is a reddish-green obscurely striped larva, much like the
canker-worm in form and size, but a little stouter.
232 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
trunk are almost equally efficacious. Care and attention, and, above all,
00 operation among those suffering from these worms, will enable us to
check their ravages.
14. The rlm span-worm.
Eugonia tubsignaria (Htibnei }.
Order LbPIDOPTKBA J Family PlIAUENID.fi.
Hatching from the eggs as soon as the leaves unfold and living unobserved for a
week or two on young shoots in the tree tops, measuring or span worms, resembling
the twigs of the elm in color, with a large red head, and the terminal ring of the body
bright red ; pupating towards the end of June, and during July and August trans-
forming into a snow-white moth.
This insect is widely spread. I have
observed it in the forests of northern
.Maine in August, and it is common in
the Middle States. It is very destruc-
tive to the elms in New York City,
Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, though not
known to be destructive in the country.
The moth may at once be recognized by
the snow-white body and wings, the an-
terior pair being angular and the hinder
pair slightly notched. It is, according
to Fitch, still more destructive to the
linden than to the elm.
From a pamphlet by H. A. Graei and
Edw. Wiebe, entitled uThe measure-
worm, a description of the insect, in all
its metamorphoses, etc/' (Brooklyn, 1862), we quote the following facts :
The eggs are deposited by the female moth toward the beginning of July, not only
on trunks and branches of early-leaving trees, but also on numerous other objects, to
the number of from 20 to 250, in irregular clusters. During this period they are about
the size of a small pin's head, conical in form, and somewhat compressed at their
points; first of a yellowish, then of a light olive green, and later of a dark brown.
They are covered with a thick, sticky glutinous matter and adhere strongly to the
object on which they are deposited. They are usually found on the under side of
branches, and almost always below the connecting points of the same, apparently for
their better protection and with the design of opening several avenues for the young
brood to find subsistence. The number of eggs generally decreases from the base of
the branches towards their extremities. »
In this state the eggs remain unaffected by rain or frost, seemingly unchanged,
until the time when our shade trees unfold their first leaflets, which (subject to the
weather) is usually between the 15th of April and the loth of May.
Little caterpillars then creep from these eggs, eagerly enjoying the rays of the
sun on warm days, and carefully hiding themselves under the young foliage for pro-
tection on cold and stormy days. Here we rind them crowding together in countless
numbers; until after a very brief period they engage in their work of destruction.
The young caterpillars always creep towards the extremities of the branches, led by
Fin. 70. — Elm span-worm niotli. natural
size. — After Emerton, from Packard.
Flo
. — Elm spau-worm. natural size.—
After Emerton, from Packard.
THE NOVEMBER MOTH. 233
their instinct to find there, first of all, the means for their subsistence, and make a
retrograde movement only if they meet with any obstacle. They then devour the
young foliage as quickly as it develops, so much so that often a fortnight 8'iffices tc
render a tree entirely leafless.
For their perfect development the caterpillars need from five to six weeks, during
which period they sometimes eat daily more than ten times their own weight. It is
then that they are most troublesome to us, partly, and chiefly, by their destruction
among our shade trees; partly by the considerable amount of an unpleasant matter
g^which they drop; and last, but not least, by the terror which, in their state of sus-
pension, or dropping from the trees, they are apt to create among our ladies.
After the caterpillar is fully developed, and has, in the mean time, accomplished
its work of destruction, it enters its chrysalis state. When ready to be metamor-
phosed it selects a safe place of refuge, either in the leaf remnants or on the trunks
and branches of the trees, on fences, railings, lamp-posts, or almost anything it hap-
pens to reach.
Larva. — The caterpillar closely resembles the twigs of the elm trees, on the leaves
of which it lives, the body being brown, while the large head and termiual segment
of the body are bright red.
Remedies. — Messrs. Graef and Wiebe removed from a single small maple tree in
Brooklyn 60,000 fertilized eggs, and it is obvious that their suggestion to carefully
scrape shade and ornamental elms in the winter months, if thoroughly carried out,
would materially diminish the number of this great pest. Besides this, tarring, i.e.,
rings of tarred paper, smeared over with printer's ink, should be placed around the
trunks and larger branches as early as the middle of April. When the leaves are
much infested they should be sprayed in the manner indicated in the introduction
to this report.
15. The November moth.
Epirrita dilwtata (Hubner).
Order Lepldoptera ; Family Phal^enid^e.
Feeding on the leaves in spring ; a dirty-green measure-worm, beneath paler bluish
white, its breathing pores forming a row of orange-red dots along each side, where
is sometimes also a yellow line ; entering the ground in summer, the moth appearing
in November. (Fitch.)
In our monograph of the Phalcenidce we had overlooked the fact that
Fitch had observed this moth in New York, flying slowly in forests in
November. It appears to be more abundant in sub-arctic regions than
in New England, as we have received numerous specimens of it from
Newfoundland, and it has also been obtained in Labrador. It is prob-
able that it will rarely occur in injurious numbers on elm trees in New
England. In Europe, according to Newman, "it feeds on whitethorn,
black- thorn, horn-beam, sloe, oak, and almost every forest tree, and is
full-fed in June." Our species in British America, probably like E. cam-
bricaria, will be found feeding on the mountain ash, a common tree in
Labrador and Newfoundland.
Moth. — A much larger species than E. cambricaria, which is more common, and
which also occurs in Northern Europe. It may always be distinguished from the
other species of the genus by the simple not pectinated male antennae. The body and
wings are pale ash-gray; fore wings with eight well-defined sinuous or scalloped
blackish lines, most distinct on the costa and veins ; the basal line is heavy, and bent
rectangularly between the subcostal and median veins ; the next line, rather remote
234 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
from the basal, Barrel inward on the subcostal rein, end outward on the median
spaoe; fche fcwo Lines beyond ere approximate, but less sinuous; the fourth line from
tin* beee of the wings is broad, diffase, fcwioeas broad on the ooete ee the three others;
beyond this Line is a oleai median space, in the middle of which is the distinct discal
dot; beyond arc four more or less distinct lines, of which the outer (or Bnbmarginel)
is most distinct and regularly scalloped J a marginal row of twin black dots ; fringe
whitish. Hind wings with traces of four scalloped lines, the marginal one the heav-
iest. Kxpanse of WingS, 1.60 inches.
16. The [mpobtbd klm-lkaf beetle.
(iiihruca xanthomehvna Schrank.
Order COLEOPTEBAJ Family CBJLY80MELID.B.
*4 T0 si- * L
m /,
HEIDEMANSC V-A
Fig. 81. — Galcruca xanthomelcena: a, eggs; b, larva?; c, adults: e, eggs (enlarged); /. sculpture of
eggs; g, larva (enlarged); A, side view of greatly enlarged segment of larva: i. dorsal view of
same; ;', pupa (enlarged) ; I, portion of elytron of beetle (greatly enlarged).— After Riley.
The following account of this pest is taken from Professor Riley's
pamphlet forming Bulletin 6 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
It contains a full account of the imported elm-leaf beetle, and of the
best means of attacking it, which will be welcome, as for several years
past the elms of many towns and cities in the Middle Atlantic States
have been ravaged by this pest.
According to Glover this beetle was imported from Europe as early
as 1837. It somewhat resembles the striped cucumber beetle (Diabrotica
vittata) in size and markings. The grub or larva is long, almost cylindri-
THE IMPORTED ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 235
cal, yellowish black, with black spots, and a wide yellow line along the
back and sides.
The worm is destructive to the foliage from May until August, skele-
tonizing the leaves. When fully grown it descends to the ground, and
changes to a chrysalis, under leaves, etc., near the base of the tree.
While the beetle, of which there are three to four broods, also injures
the leaves, it is by no means so destructive as its young :
Remedies. — Glover suggested the use of oil and tar gutters, and other barriers, sur-
rounding the base or the body of the tree, devices similar to those used agaiust the
canker worm and codling moth. He recommended that there be placed around each
tree small, tight, square boxes or frames a foot or eighteen inches in height, sunk in
the ground, the earth within the inclosure to be covered with cement, and the top .
edge of each frame to be covered with broad, projecting pieces of tin, like the eaves
of a house or the letter T, or painted with some adhesive or repellent substance, as
tar, etc. The worms, descending the tree, being unable to climb over the inclosure,
would change into helpless chrysalids within the box, where they could daily be de-
stroyed by thousands. Those hiding within the crevices of the bark of the trunk
could easily be syringed from their hiding places.
" I found that the quickest and most satisfactory way of destroying the insect, which
has nearly the same habits as the Colorado potato beetle, except that it does not
propagate in the ground, is to syringe the trees with Paris green and water, though
London purple may prove just as effectual and cheaper.
" The syringing can not be done from the ground except on very young trees, though
a good fountain pump will throw a spray nearly 30 feet high. Larger trees will have
to be ascended by means of a ladder, and the liquid sprinkled or atomized through
one of the portable atomizers, like Peck's, which is fastened to the body, and contains
three gallons of the liquid.
''The mode of pupation of the insect under the tree, on the surface of the ground,
beneath whatever shelter it can find, or in the crevices between the earth and the
trunk, enables us to kill vast numbers of the pupae and transforming larvae by pour-
ing hot water over them. We found that even Paris green water poured over them
also killed. If the trees stand on the sidewalks of the streets the larvae will go for
pupation in the cracks between the bricks or at the base of the tree, where they can
also be killed in the same way. This mode of destruction is, take it all in all, the
next most satisfactory one we know of, though it must be frequently repeated..
"We have largely experimented with a view of intercepting and destroying the
larvae in their descent from the tree. Troughs, such as are used for canker-worms,
tarred paper, felt bands saturated with oil, are all good, and the means of destroying
large numbers. Care must be taken, however, that the oil does not come in contact
with the trees, as it will soon kill them, and when felt bandages are used there should
be a strip of tin or zinc beneath them. The trouble with all these intercepting
devices, however, is that many larvae let themselves drop down direct from the tree,
and thus escape destruction."
The London purple (one-half pound), flour (three quarts), and water (a barrel, forty
gallons), were mixed as follows : A large galvanized iron funnel, of thirteen quarts
capacity, and having a cross septum of fine wire gauze, such as is used for sieves,
also having vertical sides and a rim to keep it from rocking on the barrel, was used.
About three quarts of cheap flour were placed in the funnel and washed through the
wire gauze by water poured in. The flour, in passing through, is finely divided, and
will diffuse in the water without appearing in lumps. The flour is a suitable medium
to make the poison adhesive. The London purple is then placed upou the gauze and
washed in by the remainder of the water, until the barrel is filled. Three-eighths of a
pound of Londou purple to one barrel of water may be taken as a suitable percentage.
Three-eighths of an ounce may be used as an equivalent in one bucketful of water.
23(j FIFTH KEPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
Paris green injures the tree more than the Loudon purple. Three- fourths of a pound
of Paiis green to ■ barrel (thirty-six or forty gallons) of water, with three quarts ef
(tour or three-quarters of an ounce of Paris green to a bucket of water, may be regarded
as a poison mixture of medium or average strength for treating elms affected by these
beetles.
When man;, trees are to be sprayed a cart orwagon may be used to haul the poison
in a large barrel provided with a stirrer, force pump, skid, etc. The force pump was
described and figured in the annual report of the entomologist for 1882. It isdonble-
acting and very powerful, giving strong pressure to disperse tin- Liquid far and finely.
and about a pailful of poisoned water w;is sprayed upon each tree. Wheu only two
or three wore to be treated an aquapult or other bucket pump was used to force tin-
poison from a bucket carried by hand. Connected with either pump is a long flexible
pipe, with its distal part still', and serving as a long handle whereby to hold its
terminal nozzle beneath the branches or very high up at a comfortable distance from
the person managing it. To the hose is attached a bamboo pole, the partitions of
which may lie burned out with a hot iron rod. With this apparatus a tree can be
quickly sprayed, and a large grove or row of trees along a street treated in a short
time. It is equally adapted for forestry use in general, and for orchards, when the
i re. s are not in fruit.
The eg<j. — In each group (Fig. 81 e, magnified), and so firmly fastened to the leaf that
they can only be detached with great care without breaking the thin and brittle
shell. The number of eggs in each group varies from four or five to twenty or more.
Very rarely only three eggs are seen in one group, but we never found less than that
number. The egg itself is oblong oval, obtusely, but not abruptly, pointed at tip, of
straw yellowr color, its surface being opaque and beautifully and evenly reticulated,
each mesh forming a regular hexagon, as shown, highly magnified, in Fig. 81 /. The
form of the eggs is not quite constant, some of them, especially those in the middle
of a large group, being much narrower than others. The duration of the egg state is
about one week.
Larva. — The general shape of the larva is very elongate, almost cylindrical, and
distinctly tapering posteriorly in the early stages, but less convex and of nearly equal
width when mature. The general color of the young larva is yellowish-black, with
the black markings comparatively larger and more conspicuous, and with the hairs
arising from these markings much longer and stiffer than iu the full-grown larva.
With each consecutive molt the yellow color becomes more marked, the black mark-
ings of less extent and of less intense color, and the hairs much shorter, sparser, and
lighter in color. A nearly full-grown larva is represented iu Fig. 80 </, and in this the
yellow color occupies a wide dorsal stripe and a lateral stripe each side. The head
(excepting the mouth-parts and anterior margin of the front), the legs (excepting a
ring around the trochanters), and the posterior portion of the anal segment are always
black. The first thoracic segment has two large black spots on the disk, of varying
extent, and often confluent. The following segments (excepting the anal segment)
are dorsally divided by a shallow trauverse impression into two halves, and the black
markings on these halves are arranged as follows: two transverse dorsal markings,
usually confluent, as shown in our figure ; two round and sublateral spots ; the tips of
the lateral tubercles are also black. The abdominal joints of the ventral surface have
each a transverse medial mark, and two round sublateral spots of black color. Stig-
mata visible as small umbilicate spots between outer sublateral seriesof dorsal mark-
ings and lateral tubercles. The yellow parts of the upper side are opaque, but those
of the under side shining. The black markings are polished, piliferous, and raised
above the remaining portions of the body.
Pupa. — Of brighter color than the larva, oval in shape, and strongly convex dor-
sally. It is sparsely covered with moderately long but very conspicuous black bris-
tles, irregularly arranged on head and thorax, but in a transverse row on each fol-
lowing segment. The pupa state lasts from about six to ten days.
ELM-LEAF BEETLES. 237
The beetle. — (Fig. 81 c, natural size ; Jcy magnified). Resembles somewhat in appear-
ance the well-known striped cucumber-beetle (Diabrotica vittata), but is at ouce dis-
tinguished by the elytra not being striate punctate, but simply rugose, the sculpture
under a high magnifying power being represented in Fig. 81 1. The color of the upper
side is pale yellow or yellowish-brown, with the following parts black : on the head a
frontal (often wanting) and a vertical spot ; three spots on the thorax ; on the elytra a
narrow stripe along the suture, a short, often indistinct scutellar stria each side, and a
wider humeral stripe not reaching the tip. Under side black, pro- and meso-sternum
and legs yellow ; femora with a black apical spot. Upper and under side covered with
very fine, short, silky hairs. In newly-hatched individuals the black markings have
a greenish tint; the humeral stripe varies in extent. (Riley).
18. The elm galeruca.
Galeruca calmariensis (Linnaeus).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Chrysomelid^e.
Thick, cylindrical, blackish, six- footed grubs, often
wholly defoliating the trees, and changing into an ob-
long oval beetle a quarter of an inch long, of a grayish
yellow color, with three small black spots on the pro-
thorax, a broad black stripe on the outer edge of its wing- T
covers, and a small oblong spot near their base. (Fitch.)
This insect has been observed by Eiley to be
extremely abundant on the elm at Washington,
D. 0. I have observed it commonly at Bruns-
wick, Me. Fig. 82. — Galeruca calmariensis.
Smith del.
19. Haltica (Graptodera) chalybea (Illiger).
Order Coleopteka; Family Chrysomelhxe.
Occasionally eating holes in the leaves ; a steel-blue flea beetle, varying much in
color ; the body oblong, oval, and the hinder part of the thorax marked with a trans-
verse furrow ; a little over .15 inch (4mm) in length.
20. The ladder chrysomela.
Chrysomela scalaris (Le Conte).
Order Coleoptera ; Family Chrysomelid^e.
Feeding on the leaves throughout the season, a shining, hemispherical, bottle-green
beetle, with silvery- white wing-covers, on which are several bottle-green spots, and
a broad jagged stripe on their suture ; its wings rose-red and its antennae and legs
rusty yellow. Length, 0.30 to 0.40. More common on willows, and especially the
alder. The larva is thick and fleshy, with a row of black spiracles along the side of
the body and a dark prothoracic shield.
21. The American cimbex saw-fly.
Cimbex americana (Leach).
Order Hymenopteka ; Family Tenthredinid^e.
A cylindrical, glaucous, yellowish-white worm, coiled and marked like a snail's
shell, having a broad black line along the back ; when disturbed ejecting a watery
fluid from pores situated above the spiracles ; transforming into the largest species of
saw-fly we have, with stoutly-knobbed antennae; appearing early in summer; also
feeds on the birch, linden, and willow. (See willow insects.)
238 FIFTH REPORT OP TIIK ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
22. The ANTIOI'A BUTTERFLY.
FflMCfM (iittiojKi l l.iim.ius).
Order LXPIDOPTBRA ; Family PaPXLIOHID .1 .
Bometimea oooarring oo the flm, bat more oommoa on the willow ; ■ Btontly-spined
caterpillar, with a black hotly spotted minutely with whin-, wii h ■ row of eight dark
brick-red spots od the back ; changing to ■ dark brown chrysalis, with large tawny
spots around the tubercles <>n the back. The butterfly purplish hrown ahove, with a
broad buff-yellow border in which is a row of pah- blue spots. Plying from March
till .June, and again from the middle of August until late autumn.
Its food plants are: elm, white birch, poplar, silver poplar, willow.
It is two-brooded, and many of the late emerging specimens hibernate
and may often be seen ou warm days in January or February flitting
about. The larvae are often attacked by Tachinids and many pupae are
destroyed by Pteromalus vanessce, which watches her chance during
pupatiou. They are also destroyed by Podisus spinosus. (Riley's MS.
notes.)
23. The great elm-leaf beetle.
Monoeesta corijU (Say).
Order Coleopteka ; Family Chrysomelid^e.
Occasionally destructive to the red or slippery elm in the Middle States ; a pale yel-
lowish heetle more than half an inch long, with the wing-covers twice spotted with
blue : laying its yellow eggs in a cluster on the under side of the leaf in June, the
grub appearing a week later, being brown or yellowish-brown, and eating the leaves
into rags ; towards the eudof July or early in August entering the ground, forming an
oval cavity a few inches below the surface ; assuming the pupa state a week before
they appear as beetles in June. (Riley.)
In his report as U. S. Entomologist for 1878, Professor Riley calls at-
tention to a much larger beetle than the imported elm-leaf beetle, but
having very similar habits, and which has proved extremely destructive
to the red or slippery elm in Missouri during the past few years :
The sudden appearance of this iusect in such excessive numbers as to absolutely
strip all the elms of this species through the woods for many miles must be looked
upon as phenomenal; for while J. F. Melsheimer reported the beetle many years ago as
sufficiently numerous in some parts of Virginia to completely defoliate in a short time
the hazel (Corylua amrrieanus),* the species is generally considered a rarity in ento-
mological cabinets. Nor can I find that anything has been recorded of its adoles-
cent stages. The beetle was first described by Say (he. cit.) as (ialeruca coryli, and
is the only North American species of the genus Monoeesta to which it is now referred,
the genus beiug more fully represented in Central and South America. The color is
pale clay-yellow, with two dark, bluish spots on each wing-cover. These spots are
variable in size, and sometimes entirely wanting.
My attention was first called to the injuries of this larva some three years ago by
Mr. George W. Letterman, of Allentown, Mo, and I have since been able to trace
the lull natural history of the species as it is given below.
The parent beetles (Fig. 83, jj) make their first appearance during the month
of June, when they may usually be found pairing on the tree first mentioned. The
•AuctoreS&y, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sc, Phil., Ill, 16J4.
THE GREAT ELM-LEAK BEETLE.
239
eggs (Fig. 83, a) are laid on the under side of the leaf in a compact, more or
less globose, gamboge-yellow cluster, each egg surrounded and the whole mass
firmly held together by a glutinous substance. There are. on an average, about
1^5 eggs in each mass, the eggs being laid in layers. In general appearance the
Fig. 83.— The great elm leaf beetle, a, b, eggs; d, larva: g, h, head ami mouth parts of the same; i,
pupa ; j, beetle.— After Riley.
mass bears a resemblance to a yellow raspberry. Each egg (Fig. 83, &), when ex-
amined separately, is seen to be subspherical in form and highly polished.
The young larvae (Fig. 83, c) hatch in about a week after the eggs are laid,
and at first congregate around the empty egg-shells, which they nibble and feed
240 FIFTH BEPOBT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
upon. Foraboifl two days they remain close to their birthplace, eating only the
parenchyma ofthe leaf, and showing so little inclination to travel that, should the
leaf by aeoident be detached, they perish rather than search for another. They have
at this Stage of growth the curious habit, when disturbed, of raising the abdomen to
a nearly perpendicular position, holding on to the leaf very firmly with their jaws.
I'hey are at this time of a glossy yellow color, and generally shed the first skin two
days after birth, the empty skin adhering tightly to the leaf.
In the second stage, the color of the worms becomes more brownish, and they are
iimre active, but still remain clustered together upon a single leaf or branch, scatter-
ing but slightly in proportion as they skeletonize one leaf after another. They yet,
for the most part, teed upon the under side of the leaf, not touching the upper skin,
and giving to the leaves a brownish, speckled, and seared app earance, as if covered
by patches of some brown fungus. The excrement is voided in long, bead-like
strings, which cover the ground or hang. down from the branches and leaves of the
infested trees. In another week, or when the larva.* are about half grown, a second
molt takes place, they preparing for it in the usual manner by firmly attaching the
anal joints to the leaf. (Fig. 83, e.) In the beginning of the third stage they
feed indiscriminately on either side ofthe leaf, hot still refuse to touch the epidermis
ofthe opposite side. The gnawiugs on the upper side at this stage of growth are
peculiar, being iu the form of crescent Hues with narrow strips of epidermis between
them ; whereas ou the under side there is no such regularity, and all is eaten but the
stronger cross veins. I have been unable to trace any further molts. This third
stage lasts from two to three weeks, the larva scattering more thoroughly and the
general color becoming quite brown or yellowish-brown. As the worms reach full
growth (Fig. 83, ddd) the fleshy part of the leaves is entirely eaten so that little
remains but the principal ribs, and the leaves thus present a very ragged appearance.
Toward the end of July and early in August the worms cease feeding and descend
into the ground, burrowing therein and forming a simple oval cavity a few inches
below the surface. They lie dormaut therein through the fall, winter, and early
spring months, assuming the pupa state (Fig. 83, i) but about a week before the
beetles issue.
Remedies. — Experiments made upon the larva of the imported elm-leaf beetle shows
that Paris-green water is very effective iu destroying it, in both the larva and beetle
states : and, while I have had no opportunity of making such experiments with the
species in question, I have no doubt that it would here prove equally destructive.
The larva are, throughout their existence, quite sluggish and drop to the ground on
slight disturbance. A good shaking of an infested tree, therefore, will bring most of
them to the ground, and experience shows that they have little or no capacity for
mounting the tree again. This remedy will be applicable to cultivated trees, espe-
cially before they get too large.
24. The interrogation — mark butterfly.
Grapia interrogationis (Fabricius).
Injuring the foliage of the elm as well as linden tree and hop-vine, a caterpillar, with
reddish black, bilobed head, and black body covered thickly with streaks and dots
of yellowish white, transforming into our largest species of Grapta, and marked on
the under side of the dull hind wings with a golden semicolon.
I am informed by H. L. Clark, esq., that iu 1887 the elms iu Provi-
dence were much eaten and disfigured by these caterpillars, and that
the chrysalids were everywhere to be seeu attached to fences, walls, etc.
Larva. — An inch and a quarter long. The head is reddish black, flat iu front and
somewhat bilobed, each lobe tipped with a tubercle emitting five single black pointed
spines. It is covered with many small white and several blackish tubercles. The
THE COMMA BUTTERFLY. 241
body is cylindrical, black, thickly covered with streaks and dots of yellowish white;
the second segment is without spines, but with a row of yellowish tubercles in their
place; the third segment has four branching spines, all black, with a spot of dark
yellow at their base; and ou the fourth segment are four spines, as there are on all
tho others, excepting the terminal, which has two pairs, one posterior to the other.
The spines are yellow, with blackish branches, excepting the terminal pair, which is
black ; and there is a row of reddish ones on each side. The under surface is yellow-
ish gray, darker ou the anterior segments, with a central line of blackish, and many
small, black dots. (Saunders.)
The chrysalis is ash brown, with the head deeply notched ; and there are eight sil-
very spots on the back. The chrysalis state lasts from twelve to fourteen days.
25. The progne grapta.
Grapta progne (Cramer).
Late in June, eating the leaves, a more common spiny caterpillar than the preced-
ing, being white mottled with gray, the butterfly smaller thau the foregoing and
marked with a reversed silver C or comma
in the middle of the binder wings; but
one brood of butterflies appearing iti
July.
Regarding the number of broods, Mr.
D. S. Harris writes us from Cuba, 111. :
On page 66 of Bulletin on Forest In-
sects, you state that Grapta progne (Cra-
mer) is single brooded. I have quite a
number of the caterpillars about ready
to change into chrysalids. I also have
butterflies of this species which emerged FlG' «*-<*™P«» progne,-From Packard.
fr<»m the chrysalis during the mouth of September, showing that they are double
brooded in this State. They are quite destructive this year.
The larva is gray, mottled with whitish ; head white, with two black prickles. The
two upper long-branched prickles upon the second ring black; no spines on the pro-
thoracic segments ; those on the succeeding rings white, tipped with black ; their
branches white, toward the forward end of the body becoming more and more tipped
with black. (Fitch.)
26. The comma butterfly.
Grapta comma (Harris).
Another caterpillar closely resembling that of G. progne, but different in being of a
brownish-red color in front and white or pale yellow behind.
The half-grown larva is black, with a yellowish stripe along the side from the third
segment to the tail, and with yellow stripes across the back, and spots of the same
color at the base of the dorsal spiues, which are yellow, tipped with black. The
mature caterpillar is white, mottled or striped with gray or ashen, and with red spir-
acles (W. H. Edwards). It differs from the larva of G. progne in its brownish-red face,
and in being more yellowish on the abdominal segments.
The chrysalis is brownish-gray or white, variegated with pale brown and ornamented
with gold ou the tubercles.
Thehutterfly differs from the Progne in the hind wings having a black spot on.their
ceuter, as well as two others toward their base, and on their under side a central sil-
very curved mark like the letter C. Expanse of wings about two inches. It appears
in May, and a second brood in July, August, and September. This caterpillar is more
common on the currant and hop.
5 ENT 10
242 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION.
27. LimeniUt arfkemii (Draij).
(iosse, in his •• Canadian Naturalist " (220), gives a figure of the larva,
pupa, and under side of the butterfly of this species.* The butterfly ap-
pears about the 1st of July. Iu the first week in July we have seeu
this butterfly in great numbers in the White Mountains.
28. The four-horned bphjhz.
Ceratomia amynlor (Hiibner.)
(Larva, PI. xi, fig. 1.)
The. caterpillar, as observed by Harris (under the name of Ceratomia
quartricornis), in one case hatched July 31. A record of its occurrence
on the white birch is mentioned iu " Psyche," 368, 1882. Professor
Kiley states that Boll found the caterpillar on the osage orange. Mr.
Pilate has also observed the caterpillar ou the linden in Ohio. A young
larva found August 20, and 35ram in length, was green with 7 paler
green lateral oblique stripes, the four thoracic horns being very promi-
nent.
This worm not unusually occurs from Maine southward on the elm,
becoming fully fed early in September, when it descends into the ground
and pupates, the moth appearing the following May and June. I have
taken it in Maine as early as May 24. The moth is a large broad- winged
sphinx, with gray or ashen body and wings, the anterior pair with a
large white dot near the front edge.
Egg. — Nearly of a compressed spheroidal shape, green, and with very fine reticula-
tions. (Harris' Corr., p. 82.)
Larva before first molt. — Yellowish green, with a darker dorsal line, a long red
caudal horn, and a very large, green head, with the dorsal denticulatious and tu-
bercles obsolete. A newly hatched larva is about one-fifth of an inch long, pale green,
with a straight caudal horu about half the length of the body, dotted and tipped
with brown. There is a pair of minute thoracic horns on the top of the third segment
and another pair on the top of the fourth, and there is a row of minute fleshy teeth
along the middle of the back, which are scarcely visible. Before the first molt the
larva has nearly doubled its size and has a white vascular line, a faint line on each
side of the middle of the back and seveu oblique stripes on each side of the body, all
of the same color. The head is smooth and the thoracic horns are barely visible.
They molt their skins in about five days after they hatch, after which the head and
caudal horn are granulated, the thoracic horns prominent, the fleshy teeth along the
middle of the back with the stripe ou each side of it; the oblique stripes on the sides
and the thoracic lines are plainly visible.
The second molt is made in from five to eight days after the first, when the row of
teeth along the middle of the back is prominent, the lateral oblique stripes are gran-
ulated, and the caudal horn is pale yellow with granulations in frout and behind.
The third mult is made in from six to eight days after the second, when the larva
is light green with the teeth along the back and the granulations no the side of a
whitish color. The caudal horn is now curved, of a yellowish-green color, and cov-
• See also Scudder's " Butterflies of the Eastern United States," 18c9.
THE ELM SPHINX. 243
ered with brown granulations on the forward side. The thoracic horns are tipped
with yellowish.
The fourth and last molt is made in from six to eight days, and in six days more
they reach maturity, leave their food plant, descend to the ground which they
enter for the purpose of spending the winter and reaching their final transformation.
The mature larva is from two and three-fourths to three and one-fourth inches long,
pale green or reddish brown, head and body strongly granulated, a dorsal row of
fleshy teeth, one on each wrinkle, tipped with whitish or pink, extends from the fourth
segment to the caudal horn. There is a pair of short, straight, tuberculated horns
on the top of the third segment and a similar pair on the fourth. A line of granula-
tions connects the thoracic horns. Seven oblique stripes of whitish granulations
occur ou each s5de, each of which crosses one segment and a part of the one before
and the one following. The last stripe extends to the caudal horn. (Fernald.)
Pupa. — Thick, not el